Environmental groups say JEA ‘leadership turmoil’ should spur public input into resource planning
Environmental groups say JEA ‘leadership turmoil’ should spur public input into resource planning
“In 2023, JEA claimed a new methane gas plant was the most affordable option for Jacksonville’s energy needs. Just two years later, projected costs have increased 139%, and an independent analysis found the project could cost customers an additional $2.5 billion over its lifetime, plus roughly $1 billion in health impacts from pollution,” said Susan Glickman, Vice President of Policy and Partnerships at The CLEO Institute.
By A.G. Gancarski at Florida Politics
Mystery still surrounds the reasons for JEA CEO Vickie Cavey’s leave of absence amid a series of political controversies.
But for a consortium of environmental groups, Cavey’s extended time off this summer offers an opportunity for the public to have more input into the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process.
The last IRP, completed in 2023 before Cavey assumed her current role, established a commitment to 35% clean energy, phasing out inefficient generating assets, exclusively using clean energy in JEA facilities, and working to “increase and enhance energy efficiency programs.”
But external groups argue the flux atop the utility creates an opportunity for a renewed discourse.
“This moment also presents an opportunity to build a stronger, more accountable JEA — one that’s rooted in trust, transparency, and real partnership with the community it serves,” said Suzanne Sapp, Senior Campaign Organizer with The Sierra Club.
“Jacksonville deserves a municipal utility that listens to its residents, includes them in the decisions that shape our energy future, and earns the public’s trust. We’re ready to work alongside JEA and our neighbors to help build that future together.”
Critics say the natural gas plant to be built by GE Vernova at the former St. Johns River Power Park site, approved at a $1.57 billion price tag, is shaping up to be a boondoggle.
“In 2023, JEA claimed a new methane gas plant was the most affordable option for Jacksonville’s energy needs. Just two years later, projected costs have increased 139%, and an independent analysis found the project could cost customers an additional $2.5 billion over its lifetime, plus roughly $1 billion in health impacts from pollution,” said Susan Glickman, Vice President of Policy and Partnerships at The CLEO Institute.
“Jacksonville can’t afford more shortsighted decisions, and the community deserves a transparent process to determine the best path forward.”
This push for public accountability is supported by the Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign, the Florida Chapter of the Sierra Club, The CLEO Institute, Jacksonville Branch of the NAACP, the Duval Affordable Clean Energy Coalition, Sunshine Power Faith Coalition, True SCLC Florida Jax Leadership Coalition, local volunteer leaders, and ratepayers.
JEA has struggled with cost overruns before, most notably with its foray into nuclear via Georgia’s Plant Vogtle. The utility is paying MEAG Power approximately $221 million annually from 2024 through 2044, with an overage exceeding Jacksonville’s General Fund budget of more than $2 billion.
“When JEA’s board voted to enter into the original Power Purchase Agreement for nuclear power in 2008, the estimated total project cost for Units 3 and 4 was approximately $15 billion, with JEA’s portion estimated at $1.4 billion. Due to numerous issues since then, the actual total cost escalated to over $36 billion, with JEA’s portion totaling approximately $3.5 billion,” the utility said in 2025.
A few years back, when the controversial and now convicted former CEO Aaron Zahn was in control, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission dismissed JEA’s request to intervene in an ongoing dispute with the Municipal Electrical Authority of Georgia over Plant Vogtle construction costs.
However, Zahn’s downfall wasn’t related to clean energy issues, but to a ham-handed attempt to sell the public utility and give himself and other executives what amounted to a commission from the sale funded by taxpayers.
And Cavey’s troubles have less to do with energy goals than divisions among the city’s political class, with a series of investigations of the utility.
Attorney General James Uthmeier and State Attorney Melissa Nelson have been looking into the termination of the utility’s lobbying contract with Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm that includes former Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and his erstwhile Chief of Staff, Jordan Elsbury.
The Jacksonville City Council probe was focused in part on an allegedly toxic workplace culture under Cavey, as well as uncollected capacity fees from commercial customers.
Cavey has had one key ally.
Mayor Donna Deegan has advocated for Cavey as an “honest and trustworthy public servant,” and has said attacks on her and JEA undermine the city’s consolidated government and are driven by forces close to Curry that want to push to privatize the utility.
In short, Jacksonville leaders are occupied with what has been more than a decade of squabbles over JEA’s direction, which started early in Curry’s term when he moved to purge the board of people he didn’t think aligned with his agenda as Mayor. So it is an open question whether community pressure can spur a review of the sort advocates seek.
“In 2023, JEA claimed a new methane gas plant was the most affordable option for Jacksonville’s energy needs. Just two years later, projected costs have increased 139%, and an independent analysis found the project could cost customers an additional $2.5 billion over its lifetime, plus roughly $1 billion in health impacts from pollution,” said Susan Glickman, Vice President of Policy and Partnerships at The CLEO Institute.
