JEA Structure: What should change?

[cityimrov]

From the previous two threads, I can see everybody is disappointed with JEA's structure and how it's run.  

What should JEA's structure be?  Should the agency be dissolved as an independent agency and just be a part of the city government with the Mayor as the head and the City Council approving their budget?  Should it be like the Duval County School Board where different parts of the city can get elected to JEA's board?  Should we put up the utility for sale and make it privately ran like FPL or TECO?  Should we do something like the former Amendment 4 and any major spending or any rate increases must be approved by the voters?  Any other ideas?

What changes should happen to JEA to make everybody happy in the way JEA is ran?  

[BridgeTroll]

Perhaps we should start with some history...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JEA

JEA (formerly Jacksonville Electric Authority), located in Jacksonville, Florida, is the eighth largest community-owned electric utility company in the United States and largest in Florida. As of 2009, JEA serves more than 417,000 electric customers, 305,000 water customers and 230,000 sewer customers. Besides Jacksonville (Duval County), JEA also has customers in Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.

History: The City of Jacksonville established an electric system in 1895. The electric system grew with the city, but remained a department of city government until an independent authority was created by the consolidation of city and county governments in 1967. During the 1970s, JEA's electric rates were among the highest in the nation. There were reports of customers with electric bills higher than their mortgage payments.

Royce Lyles became JEA Managing Director on September 1, 1979 and the utility began diversifying its fuel mix. Rates began to drop, eventually becoming the lowest in the state and near the bottom in the Southeast. JEA became an admired and respected organization. Walt Bussells was appointed Managing Director on September 8, 1995, following Royce Lyles' retirement.

Jacksonville's water and sewer systems had been operated by the city since 1880. On June 1, 1997, the City of Jacksonville, Department of Public Utilities, water and sewer operations merged into JEA. Since the Jacksonville Electric Authority was also operating other utilities, they requested a name change to the initials, JEA; the City Council approved it on September 23, 1998, effectively making JEA an orphan acronym. Walt Bussells embraced new technology and in 2002, JEA introducted online bill payment and implemented network meter reading. In 2003, the utility also began providing Chilled water for air conditioning in downtown buildings. The first two customers were the downtown library and the John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse. Purchasing chilled water eliminates the need for chillers and cooling towers at each property, reducing capital outlays and eliminating ongoing maintenance costs. The space saved can also become rentable, increasing revenue.[2]

Jim Dickenson replaced Walt Bussells when Bussells retired in 2004.

ServicesElectricity: owns/operates three generating plants and all transmission and distribution facilities; co-owns two additional power plants with Florida Power & Light: the St. Johns River Power Park in northeastern Jacksonville; and Unit 4 of Plant Scherer, near Macon, Georgia. JEA also operates a methane-fueled generating facility at the Girvin Road Landfill.
Water: 134 artesian wells tapping the Floridan Aquifer are distributed through 35 water treatment plants and 4,208 miles (6,772 km) of water lines.
Sewer: 3,760 miles (6,050 km) of collection lines and seven regional and eight non-regional sewage treatment plants.
Chilled water: the company owns one chiller plant in downtown Jacksonville which provides the commodity to nearby facilities to heat and cool their buildings' air and equipment.

Current issues: Since 2004, JEA has assessed fuel rate increases three times. In 2007, JEA had the second-lowest electric rates in Florida before they announced a four-year base rate increase package that will bring the average bill from $112 to more than $140 in 2010.[3] Most utilities had been forced to raise their rates due to increased fuel costs, but approved rate increases were designed to reduce the utility's debt, currently at $6.0 billion compared to assets of $7.5 billion. Compared to other similar sized municipal utilities, JEA has 60% more debt per customer, which can lower the utility's bond rating and make it more expensive and difficult to borrow money.