JEA Prepares for Tropical Storm Idalia, Encourages Customers to Be Ready

2023-08-28

JACKSONVILLE -- JEA is closely monitoring Tropical Storm Idalia, which is forecast to become a major hurricane in the Gulf and make landfall in the Big Bend Wednesday morning. The utility encourages customers to be prepared for possible power outages and flooding.

"We want to ensure our customers are safe and have made preparations for their homes and their families," JEA Managing Director & CEO Jay Stowe said. "We prepare year-round for severe weather, and more than 2,000 JEA team members are ready to mobilize, restore power, and resolve water and wastewater service issues as soon as possible for our customers."

All areas of the organization are preparing diligently for effects from Tropical Storm Idalia. Many employees are ready to deploy, all generators and backup pumps are being mobilized, and locations that may need additional support have been identified.

As of this morning, JEA suspended all service disconnections until further notice. JEA's Customer Center at 225 Pearl St. will close on Wednesday, Aug. 30, until further notice. Customers can continue to make payments and request new service through jea.com.

JEA encourages all residential and commercial customers to prepare now for possible storm-related impacts. Customers can prepare by:

• Stocking supply kits
• Reviewing family or business emergency plans
• Bringing loose outdoor items indoors
• Ensuring trees are trimmed near your home or business

Visit jea.com/storm to find more tips and other important resources.

To report outages, visit jea.com/outage or call (904) 665-6000. Customers who have enrolled in outage alerts also can text "OUT" to MyJEA (69532) to report their outage.

Below are some ways JEA plans for storms year-round:

• Storm Hardening: JEA has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in hardening our electric, water and sewer systems to make them more resistant to storm-related disruptions. These critical repairs and improvements help us restore power and return to normal operations more quickly after a major storm.
• Year-Round Tree Trimming: While strong winds and heavy rains cause their share of storm damage, most storm-related power outages result from tree branches falling on power lines. That makes some sections of our city - those with the most mature trees - more susceptible to service interruptions when a major storm hits. To reduce the risk of downed branches causing outages during a storm, JEA trims trees across the city all year long.
• Water & Sewer Upgrades: We've invested in upgrading our water and sewer facilities, and have installed backup generators to reduce the risk of storm-related service interruptions.

Customers should visit jea.com/storm and JEA's Facebook and Twitter pages for the latest updates.

About JEA

JEA is a not-for-profit, community-owned utility that provides safe, reliable and affordable services to more than one million residents across four Northeast Florida counties. JEA is not owned by investors. It was created by the City of Jacksonville to meet the electricity and water needs of those who live in Jacksonville and surrounding communities. JEA's 2,000+ workforce is dedicated to ensuring the demands of its customers are met, both today and for generations to come, while protecting our precious natural resources and supporting our region's growth and economic development.

Media Contact

Karen McAllister
JEA Media Relations
media@jea.com | (904) 665-5500

Category:

• corporate
• customer
• storm