With Hurricane Ian expected to bring wind and heavy rain to the First Coast this week, one thing JEA customers won't have to worry about is intentional power disconnections.
The utility announced disconnections for nonpayment would be suspended starting Tuesday as a normal part of its storm preparations.
With uncertainty remaining in the forecast track for Ian, JEA leadership are preparing for potential widespread outages and flooding in low-lying areas, said JEA CEO Jay Stowe in a news release Monday.
“Regardless of the impact, all 2,000+ JEA team members are ready to mobilize and restore power and water as soon as possible for our customers, as we prepare year-round for all types of severe weather,” Stowe said.
In addition, mutual aid crews from other utilities are on standby and already are mobilizing to assist in the restoration process as needed, Stowe said.
Before Ian starts affecting the Jacksonville area — which could happen as soon as Wednesday afternoon — JEA customers are encouraged to ensure their mobile phone number and email address are up to date on their jea.com account and to sign up for voice, email or text alerts. That way, JEA can contact them with updates on any power outages that happen this week.