Bianca Sanchez, bianca.sanchez@sierraclub.org
ORLANDO, Fla. - Today, Sierra Club released its sixth Dirty Truth Report. This year, four Florida utilities – Jacksonville Energy Authority (JEA), Seminole Electric Coop, Tampa Electric Company (TECO), and Duke Energy Florida – all earned “F” grades for failing to retire coal plants and onboard cost-saving clean energy.
Despite commitments to affordability and economic growth, JEA and Seminole Electric Coop each earned a 0 out of 100 points. TECO also earned an “F,” scoring a measly 2 out of 100. As did Duke Energy Florida, who earned a 7 out of 100.
See the Full Report on the Dirty Truth Website.
The report grades utilities across the country based on how much coal they are retiring, how much gas they are planning to build, and how much renewable energy they are adding. Collectively, the 50 parent companies studied in the 2026 Dirty Truth report scored just 7 points out of 100, earning an F, and the lowest score ever in the history of the report.
The four Florida utilities plan to retire 0 MW of coal by 2030. Rather, to their combined 21,813 MW of existing coal and gas power, Duke Florida, JEA, TECO, and Seminole plan to add 5,977 WV of new gas by 2035.
Despite the economic and health costs passed on to families, JEA plans to continue operating two expensive and polluting coal-fired units at their Northside Generating Station. TECO also plans to continue operating its uneconomical coal unit, Big Bend Unit 4.
While failing to protect customers from expensive coal, JEA has also approved plans for a $1.57 billion new gas plant at the site of the former St. Johns River Power Park, meanwhile TECO plans to build a new gas plant at the former Polk Power Station coal site.
Renewable energy remains the cheapest way to generate electricity, while coal and fossil fuels remain expensive and extremely harmful to public health. Despite this, the Dirty Truth Report shows that Florida’s utilities are doubling down on dangerous, expensive fossil fuels. This means higher bills for families, more dangerous pollution, and less reliable energy.
“Florida’s Dirty Truth scores are alarming and point to patterns in local utility decision-making that will have real life impacts on Florida’s families and small businesses working to make ends meet,” said Susannah Randolph, Sierra Club Florida Chapter Director. “Our Florida utilities are doing customers an incredible disservice by continuing to rely on polluting and expensive coal and gas for power. The stakes are high and the impacts of delaying a clean energy transition have already reached people’s homes and wallets. From sky-high rate hikes to worsening storm seasons, there is no time for hesitation. Now is the time for utilities across the state to retire coal and onboard cleaner, cheaper, affordable energy.”
“For too long, JEA customers have been left in the dark on how our municipal utility plans to power our future,” said Suzanne Sapp, Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Organizer in Jacksonville. “Scandals, severe leadership turnover, and unbearable bill increases have accompanied the utility’s yearslong failure to quit operating its polluting coal plant. JEA needs to urgently do better by the people they pledge to serve: Jacksonville’s residents, families, and small businesses. Jacksonville residents deserve a public energy planning process and a clean energy transition that keeps the lights on and bills low.”
“The people of Tampa Bay have long paid the price for TECO’s failures to plan a sustainable future for our community,” said Walter Smith, Sierra Club’s Tampa Bay Organizer. “Our families and neighbors across Tampa know the realities of higher bills, worsened health conditions like asthma, and increasingly devastating storm seasons. Enough is enough, TECO needs to make a change for our communities, starting with retiring the costly Big Bend coal unit and onboarding clean, renewable energy that helps keep bills affordable and lights on.”
“The Dirty Truth report has once again revealed utilities’ overwhelming failure to plan a phase-out of their expensive and dirty fossil fuel infrastructure, and transition to clean energy,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “Every year that utilities drag their feet on the clean energy transition is another year where families pay record bills for expensive fossil fuels, another year of extreme weather events, and another year of air and water pollution threatening our health. We cannot afford to wait any longer to bring our grid into the 21st century. As artificial intelligence data centers drive demand for energy, utility companies are rushing to expensive and dangerous fossil fuels, leading to soaring electricity prices and worsening air pollution. The time is now for these companies to transition to affordable, reliable, clean energy to build a healthier and more sustainable energy future. The Sierra Club will continue to push utilities to deploy more renewable energy and work to lower costs and emissions.”
View the full report on the Dirty Truth Report Website or here.
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.