JACKSONVILLE — A nuclear power plant currently being built in East Georgia could now have an impact on JEA customers here on the First Coast.
Ten years ago, JEA agreed to pay a percentage of the construction costs, with plans to use energy from the power plant.
The cost to build the plant has nearly doubled. JEA's portion is now more than $2.5 billion.
That is too much for JEA so they have filed suit to get out of the deal. JEA has also asked federal regulators to get involved.
If JEA loses, there will be a significant cost to JEA and its customers, but in a statement released on Monday, JEA says it’s working to prevent its customers from footing the bill.
Customers like Vickie Haynes would not be ecstatic if their electric bill went up.
“I wouldn’t feel very good about it. Right now the economy is not good, some people are struggling to pay their electric bill, I’m struggling to pay mine,” Haynes said.
Haynes and her husband work multiple jobs to make ends meet.
While JEA is trying to stay out of funding Project Votgle, other utility companies in Georgia such as Oglethorpe and the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia are proposing to continue working on the project.
JEA does not want the costs of the project to affect people like Haynes.
"I hope they can work it out and the cost doesn't go up," Haynes said.
According to a representative from the Georgia Public Service Commission, consumers there could see a 6 to 8 percent increase in bills starting in 2022 or 2023.
An average electric bill in Georgia costs $123 according to a utility website. A 6 to 8 percent increase equals an additional $7.38 to $9.84 per month.
JEA has not specified how much money could be added to their customers’ bills.