1. It would have been closer to $5 billion because @lennycurry’s preferred CEO created a billion-dollar bonus plan.
2. NextEra or whoever else would have been permitted to increase rates (de facto tax increase).
3. Documents show ratepayers were still going to eat Vogtle costs.
Of all the sale talking points, Vogtle is the most misleading. JEA worked out a plan that would have allowed a company to acquire all of JEA minus Vogtle, and the standalone Vogtle “company” was going to bill ratepayers *in addition* to the new utility.
What was going on here was nothing other than a possible tax increase, but dressed up as a reform. If the city needs billions so bad, then assess a sales tax and get on with it. That’s at least an upfront, honest tax increase.
This analysis also doesn’t take into account the decimation of a major, high-wage job provider in the community, nor does it factor in the loss of local (not Tallahassee) control of rates, as well as major environmental and civic footprints.
And last thing. JEA does not stand for “Jacksonville Energy Authority.” It once stood for “Jacksonville Electric Authority” but rebranded ages ago to simply “JEA” when it acquired the regional water/sewer franchise (another dubious enterprise to place in private hands).
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