Q: For JEA’s electric, water and sewer customers, Oct. 1 means a rates increase takes effect.
The board of directors for Jacksonville’s publicly owned utility voted in June to increase electric rates by 6.2% and water and sewer rates by 8%.
JEA’s leadership says the rate hikes are necessary to cover projected revenue gaps, as well as pay for upcoming water infrastructure and power generation projects, including a new $1.57 billion natural gas-fired power plant.
But where can JEA customers find a breakdown of exactly how much their bill will rise?
That’s what Jacksonville Today reader Josh G. wants to know.
“Is there anywhere JEA customers can find the actual rate change? I read the (June 30) email from JEA, and it provides estimates of how the average bill might change. That’s useless. We need to know the actual cost per kWh (kilowatt hour) and then multiply that by our usage (I keep track of my home EV charging, so I need to know the exact cost for my spreadsheet).”
Is there anywhere JEA customers can find the actual rate change?-Josh G.
Josh also says, “It sounds like JEA is going to continue charging different rates after a certain usage level each month, but this was not communicated clearly by them.”
A: The quickest way for JEA customers to know what their bill should be is to use the utility’s bill estimator tool. JEA spokesperson Karen McCallister tells Jacksonville Today that the estimator has been updated to calculate a bill under the increased rates.
You need to know a few pieces of information in order to get an estimate close to your actual bill:
For eclectic customers:
How much electricity you use
For water/sewer customers:
Water meter size
How many gallons of water you use monthly
JEA also offers this projection based on an average home that uses 1,000 KWh of electricity:
“For example, the residential electric bill of 1000kWh was $170.37 in April. For October, the bill is forecasted to be $8.70 less due to lower fuel cost projections,” McCallister says.
JEA says it will be updating its rate breakdown chart at JEA.com/rates to reflect the increases. Detailed info is also available under “Electric Tariff Schedules” and “Water and Wastewater Tariff Schedules.”
Rates and bill breakdown
JEA’s new electric basic monthly charge is $21. The utility then charges for usage:
Energy Charge Tier 1 (First 1,000 kwh): $0.07815 per kWh
Energy Charge Tier 2 (>1,000 kwh): $0.09705 per kwh
The cost of fuel is also factored into the total bill. It’s the cost for JEA to buy natural gas, petroleum coke and coal on the global market for their power plants.
The fuel cost can fluctuate based on geopolitical events like wars in Ukraine and Iran that can affect supply, or cold weather events that increase usage.
April 2026 saw this year’s peak fuel price so far, $58.63 for a 1,000 kWh household. JEA passes that cost directly on to its customers. For October, the fuel cost will be $43.26.
JEA’s water bills have a few more line items. In addition to the base monthly charge of $13.77, sewer and water usage is also tiered. There is also the city of Jacksonville water and sewer franchise fees.
“The residential water and sewer bill of 6kgals was $77.75 in April,” McAllister says, referring to what the utility considers an average amount of use. For October, the bill is forecasted to be $83.50, or $5.75 more,” McAllister said.
JEA customers sound off
A half dozen residential customers shared their concern about the rate increases, and examples of their bills – one that reached $600 – at last week’s JEA board meeting.
Board member Arthur Adams recommended working with customers who attended the meeting to determine why their bills were so high.
Still, data presented at the JEA meeting said JEA customers in August had the second-lowest utility bill on average among Florida’s major metro areas, at $230.21. St. Petersburg customers had the highest: $308.19.
JEA officials responded on Sept. 25 that, in addition to conducting home energy audits for customers upon request, it is also working with the city on a program that could provide homeowners grant funding for minor repairs to boost energy efficiency.
In addition to the gripes from customers, utility leadership are also facing pushback from environmental advocates, who say JEA should be retiring its fossil-fuel-burning plants and investing in more renewable and low-carbon energy technologies like solar farms with battery storage.
Suzanne Sapp, senior campaign organizer for Sierra Club Florida, says those moves could lower the utility’s costs long term.
“I’m here today because JEA ratepayers are frustrated. And they have every right to be,” Sapp said at JEA’s Sept. 25 board meeting. “We’re facing rising costs, we’re watching major energy decisions unfold, and yet we’re being asked to trust a process that too often feels like decisions are being made for us, rather than with us. … We deserve a seat at the table before, not after these decisions are made.”
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