JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Local environmental and community advocacy groups delivered bags of coal to JEA headquarters Wednesday, using the days before Christmas to protest the utility’s continued use of coal-fired power and rising electric bills.
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Supporters from Sierra Club, the CLEO Institute, the NAACP, Solar United Neighbors, the Florida Interfaith Climate Action Network and the St. Johns Riverkeeper gathered at JEA headquarters.
The demonstration targeted JEA’s Northside Generating Station, a decades-old power plant that uses coal along with natural gas and oil. Advocates argue the plant is costly to operate, contributes to pollution and drives higher utility bills for customers.
“Together we are here to deliver coal to JEA for Christmas and to deliver a clear message,” said Suzanne Sapp of the Sierra Club during a news conference outside JEA headquarters. “Jacksonville deserves cleaner air, lower bills and a real commitment to renewable energy not more coal.”
Supporters from several organizations walked inside JEA headquarters to deliver the coal, along with a holiday card and a coalition letter addressed to CEO Vickie Cavey. The letter urges JEA to retire its coal units and prioritize renewable energy as it plans for the future.
Advocates said the cost of operating the Northside plant is ultimately passed on to customers through their electric bills. Earlier this year, JEA customers saw a 5.1% increase in overall utility bills. The board approved the rate adjustments for fiscal year 2026 which took effect this past October.
“We’re proud to have our own public utility,” said Larry Zwain of the Sierra Club Northeast Florida Group. “But they have not been good about their price increases and explaining why, or about looking ahead when it comes to solar power.”
JEA has previously said recent rate increases are “predominantly attributed to obligations to Plant Vogtle,” a nuclear power plant in Georgia that supplies electricity to JEA customers.
Leah Ferrell of Solar United Neighbors said energy affordability has become an ongoing crisis for many families.
She criticized JEA’s plans to invest in what she described as an expensive, polluting natural gas plant, arguing it would only worsen affordability and environmental concerns.
“We’re hearing this word ‘affordability’ tossed out everywhere,” Ferrell said. “For so many community members, this is a chronic issue, and we are also in an energy affordability crisis.”
Ferrell said solar power offers a clearer, more cost-effective alternative, saving both ratepayers and the city money while providing cleaner energy. She called on JEA to take advantage of available federal solar tax credits through July 2026, and commit to greater transparency, saying those steps would bring wide-ranging benefits to Jacksonville.
The protest comes as JEA prepares to update its Integrated Resource Plan in 2026, a long-term blueprint that will guide decisions about future energy sources. Advocacy groups say retiring the Northside coal units could save customers hundreds of millions of dollars over time while reducing harmful emissions.
When asked about their commitment more renewable energy sources like solar power, JEA indicated that coal only makes up 6% of their energy mix. It is primarily used during extreme temperatures, when the utility experiences supply constraints with other fuel sources, or when other generation resources are unavailable.
JEA does not have specific timeline to phase out coal and petcoke, and we will continue to evaluate the most cost-effective and reliable options for our customers as conditions and resources evolve. Our long-term planning for the best ways to provide energy to our customers reliably, cost-effectively and sustainably is an ongoing process. We consistently evaluate market and economic factors to ensure we are obtaining the most cost effective and reliable generation for our customers.
Renewable energy makes up 4% of JEA’s energy mix.
In a statement, a spokesperson for JEA writes, “Our long-term planning for the best ways to provide energy to our customers reliably, cost-effectively and sustainably is an ongoing process. We consistently evaluate market and economic factors to ensure we are obtaining the most cost effective and reliable generation for our customers. Clean energy currently accounts for 15 percent of JEA’s energy mix, including nuclear, solar, landfill gas and biomass. We will continue to evaluate and pursue clean energy opportunities that are cost effective and provide reliable service to our customers.... In 2014, coal and petcoke made up approximately 64 percent of JEA’s energy mix. Since then, JEA has reduced its carbon emissions by about 60 percent, primarily through the decommissioning of the coal-fired St. Johns River Power Park Units 1 and 2 in 2018 and Robert W. Scherer Unit 4 in Juliette, Ga., in 2022, and reduced reliance of Northside Units 1 and 2.”