JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — JEA customers will soon have to pay a fee again for payments processed using a credit or debit card.
The payment processing fees were temporarily suspended back in 2022, when unusually high utility bills impacted tens of thousands of JEA customers.
In August of 2022, JEA temporarily suspended disconnections for past due balances, in an effort to give customers time to catch up.
When the grace period ended in September that year, JEA said more than 73,000 customers still had unpaid balances, and many of those had to make payment plan arrangements to pay off their balance.
In October 2022, credit and debit card fees for payments were suspended as people resumed regular payments. In the last two years, JEA data shows the utility has absorbed the cost of more than $9 million worth of credit card fees.
Now JEA says those fees will once again be in effect, starting September 30.
JEA does not profit from the fees; they are a direct cost from the credit card processing vendor.
You can still pay online or over the phone using a checking or savings account. You can pay in person at a customer solutions center or authorized payment-only location. Many of those centers only accept cash. You can also submit a check or money order payment in the mail.