Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —In light of recent news that JEA CEO Vickie Cavey has taken an extended leave of absence and Jody Brooks is serving as interim CEO, 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 are calling on JEA to commit to a public, transparent Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process. Jacksonville ratepayers deserve a real seat at the table in decisions about the city's energy future.
“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.”
Jacksonville ratepayers have every reason to demand a seat at the table for decisions that will shape their energy bills, their health, and their city for decades to come. This leadership change, the 5th CEO change in 6 years, is exactly why an open, public IRP process matters now more than ever. Energy decisions of this scale — including JEA's proposed $1.57 billion-plus gas plant — should never be made behind closed doors, and they certainly shouldn't be finalized during a period when the agency's own leadership is in flux.
Susan Glickman, Vice President of Policy and Partnerships at The CLEO Institute, reminds us that “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 RMI analysis found the project could cost customers an additional $2.5 billion over its lifetime, plus roughly $1 billion in health impacts from pollution. Jacksonville can't afford more shortsighted decisions, and the community deserves a transparent process to determine the best path forward.”
A transparent IRP process would mean:
- Real public input before major energy resource decisions are finalized, not after;
- Clear, plain-language information about what JEA is planning and why;
- Independent opportunities for ratepayers, community organizations, and experts to weigh in; and
- Accountability built into the process itself, rather than left to chance.
Jacksonville deserves an energy future decided in the light of day, by the people who will be paying for it — not one shaped by insiders during a moment of institutional instability. We are calling on JEA and its Board to use this moment to recommit to genuine public participation in energy planning, starting with a transparent IRP process that puts ratepayers back where they belong: at the table.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.