JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A plan to raise power lines over the St. Johns River is moving forward.
At a JEA board meeting on Tuesday, leaders approved an agreement in which JEA will contribute $32.5 million to help get the power lines raised.
JEA is working with the City of Jacksonville and JAXPORT to complete this project. It is aimed at making room for bigger and taller ships that require a higher clearance.
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The lines will be raised to 225 feet above high tide.
The project area stretches from Blount Island on the north side of the St. Johns River to Fort Caroline on the south.
“We’ve got to be part of that solution to help that, and so we are happy to participate this time,” said JEA’s Chief of Staff Kurtis Wilson.
According to JEA, the total cost of the project is $117 million.
The city’s investment includes $22.5 million which was previously committed and matches the state of Florida’s $22.5 million contribution.
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According to the city, about $7 million is coming from leftover funding from the river dredging project, which was completed at a lower cost than projected.
The remaining $65 million cost is being split between JEA and JAXPORT.
“It’s $32.5 million from us and same from the port,” said Wilson.
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Wilson insists this project does not impact customer rates at all.
He also said that raising the power lines will upgrade critical JEA infrastructure, resulting in improvements to the resiliency of the power grid and making it compatible with new technology that will improve efficiency.
This project will go to city council for final approval.
As of now the project’s expected completion date is set for summer 2027.
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