Storm Preparation

Make sure we have your latest phone number (cellphone and land line) as well as an email address on file, as we’ll be communicating with customers through these channels. Update your contact information online or call us at (904) 665-6000 to update your contact information by phone.

Proper tree care and routine trimming can greatly reduce outages to the power grid as seen during Hurricane Matthew in 2016 by improving tree structure and health. Local tree care specialists and arborists can help identify risks and minimize damage before the storm strikes.

Pruning Your Trees 
JEA's Tree Damage and Debris Removal Policy

Storing Fresh Water

• Capture water in your water heater by turning off power to the unit, then close the water valves. This way if you lose water pressure, you will have about 40 gallons of fresh water stored in the tank
• Store water in sealable containers for drinking and bathing.
• If you plan to evacuate, turn off water at your home's main service valve.

Power

• Keep mobile devices fully charged.
• If you plan to evacuate, turn off the circuit breakers for the water heater.
• Consider turning off power to your home at the main electrical panel, especially if your home floods.

Stock Up On Supplies

• Have enough water for several days (one gallon per person per day). Don't forget pets!
• Set out a battery-powered radio, flashlights and plenty of batteries.

Electric Vehicles

• Have a plan to secure your electric vehicle in a space that is less likely to flood. This will protect the EV's lithium-ion battery and related components from damage and potential fires caused by seawater.

For more tips, follow the City of Jacksonville's recommendations for what you should have in your Emergency Supply Kit.

Just as you should create a plan for you family, business owners should develop a plan that will safeguard employees, critical infrastructure and data/information in the event of a storm. This will ensure you can get back to work quickly and safely with minimal disruption or loss.

Year-Round Preparation

• Ensure your business contact information is up to date with JEA to receive important notifications during and after a storm.
• Develop an emergency management plan and determine how you will manage operations during and after a storm.
• Ensure you have accurate, up-to-date contact information on file for all employees.
• Develop a notification process to alert employees about weather conditions and status of business operations. Create pre- and post-storm return-to-work communication plans.
• Review your insurance coverages and document business assets and equipment. Photograph or video-record your work site, interior and exterior.
• Determine what’s needed to secure your work site, such as window shutters, removing unanchored or poorly anchored outside items such as signage, etc.
• Know if your location is in a flood or evacuation zone. Learn the evacuation routes. Download the JaxReady app to your smartphone to help you monitor threats, including storms and other city-wide emergencies.
• If you plan to evacuate your work site, consider establishing a temporary safe gathering spot away from the storm’s path for employees.
• If instead you plan to shelter in place, establish a safe space away from exterior windows and doors.
• To preserve critical digital information and data, contract with a co-location company to migrate servers to a data center capable of withstanding winds and storm surge.
• Purchase portable batteries and chargers to power up laptops, mobile phones and other communication equipment should power go out for prolonged periods.

Before a Storm Arrives

• Tune in to public announcements from the City of Jacksonville through local media and the JaxReady app. Implement your emergency management plan.
• Begin alerting employees about staffing and other important considerations. Be sure to give employees ample time to secure their own homes and gather supplies.
• Share information with customers about your operations via email or your company website.
• Gather supplies to secure your work site, as well as food and first-aid kits for those who may be sheltering in place.
• Fully charge communication equipment, including laptops and cell phones, and any portable batteries used to power this equipment.
• Ensure critical digital information and data is co-located to your secure data center, or make backup copies and take with you.
• Prepare your work site by relocating outdoor equipment and vehicles indoors, securing entryways, unplugging electronic equipment and wrapping important equipment such as computers in plastic bags away from the floor.
• If your work site is in a mandatory evacuation zone and your zone is told to leave, evacuate promptly and safely. 

JEA does not restore power to certain customers before others, no matter their dependence on life-sustaining medical devices. Customers with such devices should consider sitting the storm out at a storm shelter.

City of Jacksonville Special Needs Shelter Information

St. Johns County Special Needs Shelter Information

Clay County Special Needs Shelter Information

Nassau County Special Needs Shelter Information

Register your standby generator with JEA to avoid injury or death of JEA employees working on power lines.

Do not connect your generator directly to your home's wiring. Generators can "backfeed" into the power lines attached to your home, which can increase voltage anywhere on our system and seriously injure or kill a JEA lineman or your neighbor on the same line. Additionally, do not plug a portable generator into an electrical outlet in your home or garage. It can still backfeed power into JEA’s utility lines.

Florida Law requires that if you wish to hard-wire a generator to your home, it must be installed by a licensed electrician with an approved transfer switch. You may also consider having an electrician install a transfer switch in your home, so it's safe and convenient to switch to the generator when the times comes.

Read more about Generator Safety

Check to see if your home is vulnerable to hurricane tidal surge flooding. The City of Jacksonville's storm surge map gives you a general indication of the extent of flooding that might be experienced from various hurricane categories.

City of Jacksonville Evacuation Zones Map
St. Johns County Evacuation Zones Map
Nassau County Evacuation Zones Map
Clay County Evacuation Zones Map

Mandatory Evacuation Zones

Some emergency management professionals recommend unplugging appliances and/or turning off power at the circuit breaker before evacuating in order to reduce the risk of fire or electrical hazards related to flooding. Homeowners should keep in mind, however, that any food left in the refrigerator or freezer will spoil, and some alarm systems and sump pumps may not work if the power remains off for an extended period.

For those who choose to leave the power on, experts recommend turning the refrigerator and freezer up to their highest settings to reduce the risk of food spoilage should the power go out.

Safety experts do recommend that upon returning home after evacuating, homeowners turn off the electricity at the circuit breaker prior to entering to avoid any possible electrical hazards due to flooding. Enter with caution, avoid touching any electrical equipment and seek professional help if there is any sign of flooding or potential electrical danger.​

Please call (904) 630-CITY immediately to report a downed electric line. Stay away from all downed power lines because they may be energized. If you get close enough to an energized power line you can be electrocuted - even without actually touching the wire. 

The City of Jacksonville's Department of Public Works is responsible for removing trees, limbs and other debris from the roadways. To report this, contact COJ at (904) 630-2489.

Consult a private electrician to determine if it is safe to restore power to your home. If rising waters approached your home, but just missed coming inside, you may need to have an air conditioning contractor check your heating and cooling system. The outdoor unit of the air conditioner typically sits on the ground, lower than the home, so rising water may have gotten into the electrical connections and wiring of the compressor unit control panel.

If you own an electric vehicle that was submerged in salt water, keep in mind that this could be a potential safety hazard. EVs that have been submerged have the potential to catch fire and burn based on damage to the vehicle's battery and related components. 

Hurricanes are considered an act of nature, therefore JEA is not responsible for spoilage. JEA encourages customers to buy canned goods, not perishable items, and keep food stored in freezers to a minimum during hurricane season.

According to the American Red Cross, food can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to two days without electricity, and even longer in the freezer. However, they also recommend using the food in the refrigerator first as the frozen food will be safe longer. Freezing and storing water in clean containers to leave in the refrigerator before the storm hits can also help your food stay cool. It's best to have plenty of non-perishable food on hand to get you through post-hurricane recovery. Of course, don't open the refrigerator/freezer door any more than necessary.

Under normal circumstances, JEA customers are billed based on their actual usage as recorded by their home electric, water and/or irrigation meters.

Following major storms or other emergencies, however, JEA may occasionally need to reassign meter readers to assist with power restoration. During these times, if customers’ meters cannot be read on schedule, JEA will follow standard industry practice and issue an estimated bill based on the household’s historical usage data.

How Billing is Estimated

On those rare occasions when JEA must issue estimated bills, we compare a customer’s usage during the same month last year, then factor in the number of days in the current billing cycle (which varies due to weekends and holidays). If a customer has not been at the address for one year, charges are compared to the previous month.