JEA CEO Jay Stowe is stepping down, according to reports April 11 from Jacksonville Daily Record news partner News4Jax.com.
Utility spokesperson Karen McAllister told the Daily Record she could not confirm Stowe is leaving, but issued the following statement shortly before 4 p.m. April 11:
“We do not have any information we can share at this time. Jay Stowe is in a series of national security-focused meetings in Washington D.C. through Friday, so he is not available. We will have more information at a board meeting on Monday, April 15,” said an emailed statement from JEA.
“That is all we can say right now,” McAllister said.
The special JEA board meeting is 2 p.m. April 15 in the utility's headquarters at 225 N. Pearl St., Room 120. The meeting also will be available virtually.
The JEA board of directors hired Stowe in November 2020 after a failed effort to potentially sell the city-owned utility.
Stowe was the highest-paid Jacksonville city employee in 2023, the Daily Record reported in June.
As of June 15, 2023, Stowe topped the list with a $650,000 annual base pay, according to city salary data analyzed and compiled by the Daily Record.
Stowe received a raise in 2023. The JEA board voted unanimously to amend his five-year contract to increase the city electric and water utility’s chief’s base salary from $594,131 to $650,000.
When hired, Stowe was CEO and founder of Stowe Utility Group LLC in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
He was the former senior vice president of resources and operations support for the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he worked from October 2016 to October 2019. He worked for nearly 11 years at Huntsville Utilities, the city-owned energy, water and natural gas organization in Alabama.
He served more than eight years as vice president of operations and chief operating officer before he became president and CEO in 2014.
Stowe replaced interim CEO Paul McElroy, who was hired by the utility after former Managing Director and CEO Aaron Zahn was fired.
Zahn was found guilty of conspiracy and wire fraud on March 15.
This story has been updated to clarify the remarks from JEA spokesperson Karen McAllister.