JEA will sell a share of its power from the Plant Vogtle nuclear plant to utilities in Georgia and South Carolina while increasing the power it buys from Florida Power & Light, following a board decision Feb. 24.
With the 7-0 board vote, JEA expects to net a $150 million profit through the sale and purchase, said staff of the city-owned utility.
JEA will sell energy generated at Vogtle for $571 million to Dalton Utilities in Dalton, Georgia, and Santee Cooper in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.
The deal with Dalton Utilities will provide 541 megawatts from 2028 and 2032 for $368 million, with 309 MW going to Santee Cooper in 2027 and 2028 for $203 million.
JEA will purchase 150 MW from FPL from June 1, 2027, through Dec. 31, 2032. That purchase will come with an option to purchase an additional 50 MW beginning in 2029, with a two-year notice required to increase.
JEA will also increase its previous power purchase agreements with FPL by 80 MW, beginning June 1, 2026. Those purchases will total $421 million.
Dalton Utilities and Santee Cooper need the power to meet the demand of increasing population, commercial and industrial needs, JEA staff said. Construction and operation of data centers in the region is helping fuel the increasing demand.
Plant Vogtle is in Waynesboro, Georgia, about 220 miles north of Jacksonville. Its first two units went online in 1987 and 1989.
Unit 3 went online in 2023 and Unit 4 in 2024, making them the first newly constructed nuclear reactors to enter service in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
When Unit 4 came online, JEA said Units 3 and 4 combined would provide about 13% of the utility’s energy mix. Plant Vogtle is part of a JEA integrated resource plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its power generation facilities, with a goal to provide 35% clean energy by 2030.
JEA is under a long-term agreement to purchase power from Vogtle at about $250 million per year over the next 20 years. That cost reflects delays and cost overruns in the construction of the $35 billion plant.
Vogtle is owned jointly by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power Corp., Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia and Dalton Utilities, according to a media guide available at Georgia Power’s website.
JEA is not part of the ownership group but agreed to a purchase power agreement with MEAG in 2008.