JEA Ready to Respond to Tropical Storm Debby

2024-08-04

JACKSONVILLE – JEA Leadership has been closely monitoring Tropical Storm Debby throughout the weekend. As of 8:00 this morning, JEA Interim CEO and Managing Director Vickie Cavey ordered JEA’s Emergency Operations Center to operate at partial activation. At this level, the EOC will perform round-the-clock storm monitoring, support operations and release scheduled communications to internal teams, field crews and customers with storm updates.

Tropical Storm Debby is expected to take a northward turn this morning. The forecast remains on track, with a landfall expected early tomorrow afternoon over the Big Bend area. The storm Is expected to become a hurricane tonight. At landfall, winds of 90 mph are expected and may be hurricane strength. There is potential for heavy rainfall, strong wind gusts, and frequent lightning. The heaviest rainfall is expected to begin Sunday evening then continue through Monday.

“All areas of JEA are prepared for Tropical Storm Debby, and we want our customers to be safe throughout the storm as well,” Cavey said. “We are ready to mobilize and restore power and water and respond to any related emergencies once the storm passes.”

As part of normal storm preparations, starting Monday JEA will temporarily suspend customer disconnections for non-payment as we mobilize to support our community.

JEA encourages all residential and commercial customers to prepare now for possible storm-related impacts, including outages. Customers can visit jea.com/storm to learn how to prepare for dangerous storms and find other important resources.

Restoration and Safety

Once the storm passes and weather reports indicate it is safe, JEA immediately enters the restoration phase of our emergency operations. We ask for patience as our crews assess the outages caused by the storm. Our crews will work as quickly and safely as possible to restore services.

There are three simple ways to report an outage:

1. Visit jea.com/outage to view our Electric Outage Map and report an outage.
2. Call (904) 665-6000 to use our automated system.
3. Text OUT to 69532 (MyJEA).

JEA will keep customers informed with important notifications via email and social media. Community members also can find preparation tips and other important resources at jea.com/storm.

About JEA

JEA is a municipal utility providing safe, reliable and affordable services to more than one million residents across four Northeast Florida counties. JEA is not owned by investors and does not earn a profit. 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 2,200-plus workforce is dedicated to meeting customer needs, both today and for generations to come, while protecting our precious natural resources and supporting our region’s growth and economic development. Learn more at jea.com.

Media Contact

Karen McAllister
Media@jea.com | 904-665-5500

Category:

• customer
• storm