The idea of JEA contributing an additional $40 million each year to help pay down the city’s $1.7 billion unfunded pension liability has been tabbed as being “far away” and “too early” to consider by a group analyzing the pension issue.
Any answer from the utility would come in November at the earliest, a senior JEA official said Tuesday — and even that might be too aggressive.
Melissa Dykes, JEA chief financial officer, told the utility’s board of directors a request for proposals was being issued for actuarial consulting services about the possible additional contribution and alternative scenarios for pension plan changes.
Mayor Alvin Brown has said the utility could save money long term by switching its employees into a plan separate from the city. Part of that trade-off would be JEA providing $560 million over 14 years to pay down the city’s public safety pension liability.
According to a work plan timeline, JEA’s response won’t be coming to the board’s Finance and Audit Committee until at least November. Even then, Dykes said the results will need third-party analysis, a step board Chair Mike High-
tower endorsed.
“I was adamant on that,” Hightower said, later adding: “I want this thing to be thorough. I want this thing to be vetted. It’s really important for the credibility of the JEA.”
He said once the finance committee members make a recommendation, he would be prepared to take up their stance.
Meanwhile, the utility still is losing electric sales at about 2 percent a year from residential, commercial and industrial customers conserving and using technology — an ongoing trend the past decade. Water sales are falling at more than a 3 percent clip.
“Falling sales are a challenge for this industry,” Dykes said.
The utility is looking at ideas to generate additional revenue and assembled a task force to review ideas submitted by employees. Two of the most developed ideas deal with harvesting timber on JEA land and leasing its fiber network.
JEA also has a joint development agreement with Sempra U.S. Gas and Power for due diligence on a liquefied natural gas plant.
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