There's more behind a man than CEO: Jim Dickinson

[RiversideLoki]

It weighs on him. All of it does. He said he gets the monopoly argument, that JEA is the only utility in town and upset customers can either pay him or go without electricity. His business costs $1.6 billion a year to run and carries nearly $6 billion in debt. It all amounts to a balance sheet so loaded with projects, assets, depreciation and cash, he compared managing it to steering an aircraft carrier.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2010-04-29/story/theres-more-behind-man-ceo-jeas-jim-dickenson

Riiiiight....

[Sportmotor]

Nice photoshoping I would have done him up as Darth Vader tho

[finehoe]

carries nearly $6 billion in debt

WTF?

[Sportmotor]

Thats how much we owe JEA.

[RiversideLoki]

Thats how much we owe JEA.

More like their advertising budget.

[Sportmotor]

Why is that tho, I never understood why they have to advertise in places that have the choice of either JEA or a flashlight

[ChriswUfGator]

JEA sux...

[RiversideLoki]

I dunno what's going on over at TU. Sometimes they surprise me with rather hard hitting (but still softcore) journalism. And sometimes they just post up CEO PR fluff pieces.

This falls under the category of PR fluff piece. It just wreaks of a "poor embattled CEO" of a company that "everyone loves to hate."

Maybe if they were consistent on billing, not constantly trying to screw over people, and trying to make roses out of turd logs (documented worker corruption, loafing on the job, recycling company goods for cash), I'd be more inclined to feel sorry for them. But seeing as they are the only game in town, I have no desire to feel one inkling of pity for them. Especially when they have a huge advertising budget that does nothing but encourages people to save energy just so that the rates can rise immediately after the ads start doing some good.

[urbanlibertarian]

Hopefully in the near future technological innovations will allow people to get off the grid and not be dependent on big utilities.

[cityimrov]

I don't get this thread.  I thought people in this forum liked JEA.  Are you guys saying JEA doesn't have $6 billion in debt and it doesn't cost $1.6 billion to run JEA?  Do you guys think there is some type of fraud or something with these numbers?  

The thread about JEA's Greenland Power (http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,2696.0.html) sounded like everyone liked investing in stuff like Natural Gas, Solar, Wind etc.  I'm confused.  What does everyone here want to do with JEA?  

[Dog Walker]

Everybody loves to gripe about their utility.  They are always monopolies, we have to have electricity and it costs us money.

As utilities go, JEA is actually pretty good and quite well managed.  I had to live with Tampa Electric for years and they were awful!

[buckethead]

Oh yeah?!?!

JEA sux! 

[Dog Walker]

Yeah!  Believe me, TECO sucks worse!  

Maybe it's all a matter of degree and experience.  You should hear New Yorkers howl about ConEd.

Nobody loves their utility until their lights go out.

[CS Foltz]

Just the other day, I was at Three Layers getting coffee in the morning and there was two JEA trucks sitting there on either side of a hole in the street. Both vehicles had two persons in each, trucks were  running, both were in the cab, one was reading a newspaper and the other was dozing in the seat. Nice to see my money hard at work paying for the fuel and the workers! Way too much of this takes place and is part of the problem with the public perception, mine included..............JEA is over paid and is busy wasting their customers money! Maybe a thread should be started regarding the waste with JEA or better yet the City? Infact any of the City Agency's that aren't doing their jobs!