Top Tier — Florida Battery Sales Reference

JEA (Jacksonville) · Duval County & Northeast Florida

Sales reference for reps working JEA territory. This is the deep reference — how to sell it up top, full utility detail below. JEA is Florida's largest municipal utility — roughly 500,000 electric accounts across Jacksonville, Duval County, and parts of Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties — and it has been off retail net metering since April 1, 2018. Post-2018 solar customers are on net billing: they buy at retail (~15.4 cents all-in) and their exports are credited at JEA's fuel rate — a fraction of retail that floats monthly. Legacy customers (systems installed by March 31, 2018) keep the old retail net-metering policy until March 31, 2038 — and JEA's rule has a twist that's the exact opposite of its neighbor Clay Electric: the grandfathering is attached to the SYSTEM, not the customer. It survives a home sale. It is not transportable to a new address. The nearest dated clock isn't 2038 at all — it's October 1, 2026, when JEA rates rise about 8.2%. The battery here is a spread-capture machine for the post-2018 majority, an honest maximizer for the legacy cohort, and a hurricane backup for everyone.

What kind of market this is

JEA is a threat-documented market at the biggest scale in our Florida book — half a million accounts, off retail net metering since 2018, with a system-attached legacy cohort running to 2038 and a dated ~8.2% rate increase landing October 2026. The battery is a spread cure for the post-2018 majority, a maximizer for the legacy cohort, and a hurricane backup. Five defining facts:

1. JEA ended retail net metering on April 1, 2018 — most solar customers here are on net billing. JEA's DG-1 policy, verbatim mechanics: energy delivered is billed at the retail rate; energy exported is credited "multiplied by the fuel rate." Dollar credits carry forward within the year; any residual is paid out annually (and generates a 1099 at $600 or more — a detail customers appreciate hearing from us first). The current fuel-rate ¢ figure adjusts monthly — confirm it in the tool, never quote from memory. Munis set their own rules; the PSC's net-metering rule doesn't bind JEA.
2. The legacy cohort is real, dated, and attached to the system. Systems installed by March 31, 2018 keep the 2014 retail net-metering policy until March 31, 2038 — twenty years. Verbatim: the grandfathering is "attached to the system, not the customer" — it survives a home sale (the new owner re-interconnects and keeps it) but is not transportable to a new location. That's the exact mirror of Clay Electric's rule next door — and getting the two straight is a rep competency in this region.
3. The spread is the post-2018 pitch. ~15.4¢ retail vs fuel-rate exports means a battery that shifts export to self-consumption captures most of the retail rate on every stored kilowatt-hour. Honest arithmetic at half-a-million-account scale.
4. The nearest clock is October 1, 2026 — not 2038. JEA rates rise ~8.2% on that date. That's the honest, citable urgency for every cohort: every kilowatt-hour you still buy is about to cost more. The 2038 date is real but a decade out — context, never panic.
5. No programs — yet. No rebate, no battery VPP. JEA has storage contemplated in policy and a battery incentive under evaluation — a watch item, never pitched. The value is the spread, the hedge, resilience, and the takeover.

Your lead depends on the cohort. Post-2018 (the majority): the spread — "you buy at fifteen and sell at the fuel rate; a battery closes that gap every day, and the gap widens 8.2% in October." Legacy: reassurance + maximize — "your retail netting is real through 2038 and it even survives selling the house; the battery covers what it doesn't — outages, the price of what you still buy, and everything after 2038."

Default configuration: backup-capable is the strong default — hurricane country.

• Backup-capable: $18,500 cash / $23,942 financed / ~$228/mo
• Self-consumption-only: $17,000 cash / $22,068 financed / ~$210/mo

Confirm pricing, configuration, cohort, and the current fuel rate in the tool before quoting.

PART A — The Pitch (Problem → Solution → Urgency → Close)

The spine is multiple beats per section: customer headline + statement + rep layer (+ objection where noted). Beats marked (BACKUP ONLY) render only for backup config; COHORT beats swap by legacy vs post-2018 status.

The Problem

You buy at retail and sell at the fuel rate — and the gap widens in October. (POST-2018 COHORT) JEA bills every kilowatt-hour you buy at the retail rate — about fifteen and a half cents all-in — and credits every kilowatt-hour you export at its fuel rate, a fraction of that. Your credits carry through the year; whatever's left gets paid out annually at that same low rate. And on October 1, rates rise about 8.2% — the buying side of your gap is about to grow.

Rep layer: The exposed-cohort opener — the spread as arithmetic: retail ~15.4¢ all-in with taxes (basic charge $19.25/mo; energy 7.237¢/8.987¢ + fuel 4.386¢ July 2026 = 11.623¢ first tier pre-tax; ~$154 at 1,000 kWh after Duval franchise/gross-receipts/public-service taxes) vs fuel-rate exports (currently 4.386¢, resets monthly per Sheet 20.0 — confirm in the tool, never quote from memory). Mechanics precision: dollar credits carry within the year, residual paid annually, 1099 issued at ≥$600 — volunteer the 1099 detail; it builds credibility and nobody else mentions it. The dated hook: ~8.2% increase effective October 1, 2026. Objection — "My solar still lowers my bill." It does — and every surplus kilowatt-hour would lower it several times more if it stayed on your side of the meter.

Your legacy netting is excellent — here's exactly what it does and doesn't cover. (LEGACY COHORT) Your system made the March 2018 cutoff, so you have retail net metering until March 31, 2038 — and JEA's rule is unusually good to you: it's attached to the system, so it even survives selling the house. What it doesn't cover: the price of the power you still buy — rising 8.2% in October — your home when the grid goes down, and anything after 2038.

Rep layer: The legacy opener — REASSURANCE first, honestly: the 2038 position is real, twenty years from the 2014 policy, and it survives a sale (the buyer re-interconnects and keeps it — a genuine listing feature). Never manufacture worry about 2038 (it's a decade out) and never oversell bill savings (retail netting means exports already earn retail — storing gains little on today's bill). The honest value: resilience + the 8.2% hedge on purchased power + post-2038 positioning + the not-transportable nuance (if they MOVE, the position stays with the house; the battery is the part of their energy independence that comes along). Objection — "I'm grandfathered, why change anything?" Your netting is the part that's covered; October's increase, hurricane season, and everything after 2038 are the parts that aren't.

Your system is orphaned. Whoever installed your solar is likely gone, merged, or unreachable — especially after so many installers folded when the federal tax credit expired at the end of 2025. If something goes wrong, there's no one accountable. You own the system and the risk.

Rep layer: Standard orphaned-system beat. Ask who installed it and whether they'd answer a service call.

Your inverter is on the clock. Your inverter is several years old. When it fails out of warranty, that's about $3,500 to $5,000 out of pocket — and your system produces nothing until it's replaced, typically 4 to 8 weeks.

Rep layer: Standard inverter beat. SolarEdge ~12-yr warranty, real failure 8–15 yrs; Enphase 25-yr, real issues 10–20. For legacy systems this beat is stronger — a pre-2018 system is 8+ years old by definition; its inverter is deep in the failure window.

(BACKUP ONLY) When the hurricane comes, your solar shuts off with the grid. Anti-islanding is a safety cutoff: in an outage, your panels produce nothing — even under a clear post-storm sky. Irma put more than a quarter-million JEA customers in the dark. A battery keeps your critical systems running, and with sun, it recharges through a multi-day restoration.

Rep layer: Renders ONLY for backup config. JEA anchors (documented): Irma 2017 — >250,000 out (the marquee); Ian 2022 — ~20,000; Milton 2024 — minor (tens of thousands). Honest framing: Jacksonville catches fewer direct hits than southwest Florida — say so, it buys credibility — but Irma proved the exposure is real, and one storm's track is all it takes. Idalia/Helene JEA counts unpublished — no numbers.

The Solution

A battery does the right job for your cohort — automatically. (POST-2018) Instead of selling your midday surplus at the fuel rate, the battery stores it and serves your own home at night — capturing most of the retail rate on every stored kilowatt-hour, before October's increase widens the gap. (LEGACY) Your exports already earn retail — so the battery's job is everything the netting doesn't cover: your home through outages, the rising cost of what you still buy, and your position after 2038.

• Self-consumption: "For post-2018 customers, the surplus stops selling at the fuel rate; for legacy customers, the netting stays intact and the battery adds what it can't."
• Backup: "Either way — and it keeps your home running when the grid goes down."

Monthly Cost Chart and Net Bill Breakdown render here.

Rep layer: THE core cure beat — cohort-split. POST-2018 = a true spread play (~15.4¢ retail vs fuel-rate exports ≈ most of retail captured per stored kWh; the annual-residual mechanics mean over-generation is cashed out at the low rate — the battery converts that to retail value). LEGACY = NOT a spread play (retail netting already optimal on exports) — honest value = resilience + 8.2% hedge on purchases + post-2038 + the system-attached nuances; never oversell bill savings to a legacy customer. The tool's two-path model routes this — confirm cohort first, always.

(BACKUP ONLY) It keeps your home running when the grid goes down. Powers your essentials — refrigerator, A/C circulation, medical devices, connectivity — through an outage, and with Florida sun, recharges to carry you through a multi-day restoration.

Rep layer: The resilience cure beat. Size expectations honestly (essentials; set A/C expectations honestly in Florida heat).

We take it over. Top Tier becomes the single point of contact for your entire system — a new 10-year workmanship warranty, the 5-year Align Solar Protection contract ($0 deductible, non-transferable), and manufacturer warranty coordination.

Rep layer: Answers the orphaned-system problem. Transfers: workmanship with written consent; Align non-transferable; manufacturer per OEM terms.

Thousands you don't pay. The $11K+ Hidden Costs Avoided bundle — built into the takeover, not sold as extras.

Rep layer: Reframes total cost. "Your payment buys the battery plus warranty plus service plus inverter-replacement coverage — over $11K of value."

And whatever the policy does next, your stored power is yours. (COHORT-NEUTRAL CLOSE BEAT) JEA sets its own solar rules and has already changed them once — April 2018 created today's two cohorts. Power you store and use yourself doesn't depend on any export credit — retail netting, fuel rate, or whatever comes after 2038.

Rate Justification + Own vs Rent render here.

Rep layer: The independence beat — lands for both cohorts. JEA's 2018 move is itself the proof that muni policy changes; self-consumption is the value no board vote touches. 25-yr scenarios: conservative 4%, moderate 6%, aggressive 8% — and anchor the near term to the documented 8.2% (October 1, 2026), which outruns even the aggressive scenario's first year.

Urgency

The honest clocks — one of them is dated and close.

The October clock. JEA rates rise about 8.2% on October 1, 2026. That's not a forecast — it's on the calendar. Every month you wait is a month closer to buying your evening power at the new rate with no hedge — and for post-2018 customers, a wider gap between what you pay and what your exports earn.

Rep layer: THE JEA urgency — dated, citable, applies to both cohorts (legacy customers still buy their non-offset power at retail). Press it hard; it needs zero embellishment.

The spread clock. (POST-2018) You're on the exposed tariff today — every sunny day without a battery sells the surplus at the fuel rate. No future deadline to wait for; the cost of waiting runs daily and steps up in October.

Rep layer: Honest exposed urgency — the tariff is the deadline, daily.

The hurricane clock. Season runs June through November, every year. Irma put a quarter-million JEA customers in the dark — Jacksonville's exposure is real even in the years it gets lucky. A battery installed before the next storm is protection; one ordered after landfall is a backorder.

Rep layer: Factual, preparedness-framed. Credit Jacksonville's relative luck honestly, then anchor on Irma.

What is NOT a clock: 2038. The legacy expiration is real and twelve years out. Use it as context — "your netting has a horizon, and a battery installed now is earning value the whole way there and fully replacing it after" — never as a deadline.

Rep layer: The anti-manufacture rule, written into the guide on purpose. A rep pressing 2038 panic on a legacy customer is manufacturing urgency and will lose the customer the moment they do the math. October 2026 is the clock; 2038 is the horizon.

The Close

1. Verify credit + confirm cohort and configuration. Run the credit check; confirm legacy (installed by 3/31/2018) vs post-2018 status in the tool — it changes the entire pitch — and the backup/self-consumption configuration.
2. Confirm the current fuel rate. Currently 4.386¢ (July 2026); it resets monthly (Sheet 20.0, 20% MoM cap) — the tool carries the confirm-current-figure gate before any spread math is quoted.
3. Customer reads and signs the service agreement. Walk through the disclosures honestly — the cohort's actual export terms (including the annual residual payout and 1099 mechanics), the system-attached grandfathering rules for legacy customers, and that there's no federal credit or JEA program.
4. Complete the Welcome Call. Finalizes the sale and sets expectations for installation.

Standing Rules (Do NOT Violate)

• ❌ NEVER coach reps to disqualify based on home tenure. Resale story is real — not "walk away."
• ❌ NEVER claim "all warranties transfer." Workmanship: with written consent. Align: non-transferable. Manufacturer: per OEM terms.
• ❌ NEVER fabricate inspection findings.
• ❌ NEVER quote a bill-reduction factor as a guarantee.
• ❌ NEVER quote a REP buyback rate as fixed/guaranteed — plan-dependent, confirm the customer's actual plan.
• ❌ 85+ confirmation call required. Customer confirms own finances, no POA, sound mind.
• ❌ Financing ends before age 91. 75 → 15-year max. 80 → 10-year max.
• ❌ Honest cancellation window. Overselling = free customer exit + $1K–$1.5K clawback.
• ❌ Certified before selling.

Go get the sale. A battery is a strong product — clean energy, independence, backup, long-term savings, and in Texas real VPP income. A customer who wants one for any honest reason is a good sale. We never walk away over price or low savings — that's the customer's call. Do right by the customer, protect the company, be honest.

PART B — The Deep Reference

1. Orientation

• Utility: JEA — Jacksonville's community-owned municipal utility, Florida's largest muni (~500,000 electric accounts). Munis set their own solar rules; the Florida PSC's net-metering rule does not bind JEA.
• Territory: Duval County plus parts of Clay, St. Johns, and Nassau counties. Edges interleave with Clay Electric and FPL — verify by the bill header, never by county (and remember: Clay Electric the co-op serves parts of Clay County, but so does JEA — the county name guarantees nothing).
• Market type: THREAT-DOCUMENTED — retail NM ended 4/1/2018; legacy cohort (installed by 3/31/2018) keeps retail netting to 3/31/2038, attached to the system; post-2018 on retail-in/fuel-rate-out net billing. Dated ~8.2% increase 10/1/2026. No programs (battery incentive under evaluation — watch only).
• Default config: backup-capable ($18,500 / $23,942 / ~$228); self-consumption ($17,000 / $22,068 / ~$210).

2. How the JEA Bill Works

1. Energy: $19.25 basic monthly charge + 7.237¢/kWh energy (first 1,000 kWh; 8.987¢ above) + fuel rate 4.386¢/kWh (July 2026, JEA published rate — $43.86 on a 1,000 kWh bill) = 11.623¢/kWh all-in first tier (13.373¢ above 1,000 kWh), before Duval franchise/gross-receipts/public-service taxes. About a third of every kilowatt-hour is a fuel surcharge — a pass-through that resets monthly with JEA's actual fuel costs, capped at a 20% month-over-month increase. Honest band: 3.59–5.97¢ across 2025–2026 ($35.90–$59.68 per 1,000 kWh — it was 5.968¢ in April 2026 and dropped to 4.386¢ for July), and 7.168¢ at the 2023 gas-spike peak ($71.68). The fuel rate is quoted from the tool, dated, never from memory. Rates rise ~8.2% on October 1, 2026.
2. Solar exports (post-4/1/2018, DG-1): billed at retail for all energy delivered; credited at the fuel rate (currently 4.386¢/kWh, July 2026) for all energy exported. Dollar credits carry forward within the year; any residual is paid out annually — and a payout of $600+ generates a 1099. The fuel rate resets monthly (Sheet 20.0) — the tool carries the current figure as a confirm-before-quoting gate.
3. Solar exports (legacy): systems installed by 3/31/2018 remain on the 2014 retail net-metering policy until March 31, 2038.
4. The grandfathering attachment rule: the legacy status is attached to the system, not the customer — it survives a home sale (new owner re-interconnects and keeps it) and is not transportable to another address.

Why this matters for the pitch: for the post-2018 majority, the retail-to-fuel-rate gap IS the battery's paycheck — and the annual-residual mechanics mean chronic over-generators are literally being paid out at the low rate once a year (with a tax form). For legacy customers, exports already earn retail — their battery case is the October hedge, resilience, and the 2038 horizon.

3. Solar Exports at JEA — Net Billing Since 2018, and the System-Attached Legacy Cohort

JEA ended retail net metering on April 1, 2018. The legacy cohort's terms — and especially its transfer rule — are unusually favorable, and unusually easy to get wrong. All verbatim from JEA's own policy.

• The change (effective April 1, 2018): DG-1 net billing — imports at the retail rate; exports credited "multiplied by the fuel rate." Within-year dollar-credit carryforward; annual residual payout; 1099 at ≥$600.
• The legacy cohort: systems installed by March 31, 2018 keep the 2014 retail-NM policy; it "expire[s] 20 years after" — March 31, 2038.
• THE ATTACHMENT RULE (verbatim): grandfathering is "attached to the system, not the customer" — it survives a home sale (the buyer re-interconnects and keeps the legacy terms) but is "not transportable" — a customer who moves cannot take it to the new address.
• The Clay contrast (know it cold — the territories are neighbors): Clay Electric's rule is the opposite — any account change, for any reason, ends Clay's grandfathering immediately. JEA: it rides the system through a sale. Clay: any change kills it. A rep who cross-applies these is wrong in a way the customer can check in one phone call. Never mix them.
• The rep move, per cohort: Legacy — "Your retail netting runs to 2038 and it's attached to the house — it even survives selling. What it doesn't cover is October's 8.2%, hurricane season, and anything after 2038 — that's the battery's job." Post-2018 — "You buy at retail and sell at the fuel rate — the battery closes that gap every day it's installed, and the gap steps up in October."
• See the "Net Metering & Grandfathering Status" section for the cited detail; the flag for JEA is THREAT-DOCUMENTED (legacy-to-2038 system-attached / post-2018 net billing).

4. Rate Reality + The Spread

What drives the JEA pitch (named, honest):

1. The October clock: ~8.2%, dated, applies to everyone — the cleanest urgency in northeast Florida.
2. The spread (post-2018): ~15.4¢ retail vs fuel-rate exports — the battery's per-kWh value is most of the retail rate.
3. The precedent: JEA changed its solar rules once (2018) — self-consumption is the value no board vote touches.

Documented vs. speculation (say this right):

• ✅ "Rates rise about 8.2% on October 1 — that's approved and on the calendar" (documented)
• ✅ "Exports are credited at the fuel rate — a fraction of retail, and it floats monthly" (policy; confirm the current ¢ in the tool)
• ✅ "Your legacy netting is attached to the system — it survives a sale and runs to 2038" (verbatim, legacy cohort)
• ✅ "Annual leftover credits are paid out — and $600 or more comes with a 1099" (mechanics; volunteer it)
• ❌ Quoting a fuel-rate ¢ from memory (floats monthly)
• ❌ Pressing 2038 as a deadline (it's a horizon, twelve years out — October 2026 is the clock)
• ❌ Overselling bill savings to a legacy customer (retail netting already optimal on exports)
• ❌ Applying Clay's any-change rule here, or JEA's survives-a-sale rule there
• ❌ Pitching the under-evaluation battery incentive (watch item — it doesn't exist yet)

5. Incentives & Programs

• JEA battery/solar programs: none today. No rebate, no VPP. JEA has storage contemplated in policy and a battery incentive under evaluation — a tracked watch item; if it lands, this guide updates. Until then: never pitched, never implied.
• Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025. Never quote 30%.
• Florida tax treatment: solar property-tax exclusion and sales-tax exemption are state law; battery-specific treatment — confirm at close, don't promise.
• The value here is the spread + the October hedge + resilience + the takeover.

6. System Rescue Value — The System Takeover

This applies to any customer with existing solar — and it's identical across every Top Tier market. These are takeover facts, not TX-specific.

The Orphaned Solar Customer Problem. Many Texas solar customers installed during the 2019–2024 growth years and now face:

• An original installer that's gone out of business, been acquired, or stopped servicing residential (especially common after the federal tax credit expired Dec 2025)
• A 10-year workmanship warranty that's unenforceable (installer is gone)
• An inverter approaching or past typical failure windows
• No service relationship, and most companies refuse to service systems they didn't install

The Inverter Failure Reality. Inverters are the weakest link. Panels last 25–30 years; the inverter fails much sooner.

• SolarEdge string inverters: 8–15 years (12-yr standard warranty)
• Enphase microinverters: 10–20 years (25-yr warranty)
• Industry-wide: 70–90% of systems experience inverter failure within the panel lifespan
• When it fails on an orphaned system: production stops, bills jump to full retail, most providers won't quote it, out-of-pocket replacement is $3,500–5,000, and the customer is down 4–8 weeks.

What Top Tier's takeover provides (formalized through a Service Warranty Agreement with a brand-new 10-year Limited Workmanship and Roof Penetration Warranty):

• A new 10-year Top Tier workmanship warranty (regardless of system age)
• Manufacturer warranty claim handling (Top Tier chases the claim + labor, not the customer)
• Inverter replacement coverage when it fails within manufacturer warranty (customer pays nothing for the work)
• Single point of contact; monitoring setup help; performance verification at inspection

The $11K System Takeover Bundle (the exact 5-tile bundle on the proposal):

How to use it: "On top of the bill math, you're picking up over $11K of bundled services that aren't sold separately. If your inverter fails in year 12, the warranty handling alone is worth a few hundred; the replacement coordination saves $3–5K; the Align contract is $1,500 you'd otherwise pay. It adds up."

Align Solar Protection — the terms (get these right):

• 5-year term, $0 deductible, insurance-backed by American Bankers Insurance Company of Florida, non-transferable to subsequent owners.
• Covers: mechanical breakdown of existing PV (panels, inverters/optimizers, racking) — parts, labor, service calls.
• Does NOT cover: the new battery (own warranty), wear-and-tear, weather/hail, pre-existing conditions, roof issues.
• Age limits: panels/microinverters under 15 years; string/central inverters under 7 years. Not every system fully qualifies — disclose at inspection.
• It's ONE of three layers: (1) equipment manufacturer warranties, (2) Top Tier's 10-yr workmanship, (3) the 5-yr Align contract. Never call it "full coverage."
• NEVER say: "Everything's covered" / "never worry again" / "Align is your full coverage" / "you can extend beyond 5 years" / "Align transfers when you sell."

Quantifying the rescue value:

This is independent of bill savings — the rescue alone can be worth $4,000–7,500.

7. Outage Reality — Hurricane Resilience in JEA Territory

Why outages happen here. Jacksonville's storm record is lighter than southwest Florida's — say that plainly, it buys credibility — and Irma proved the exposure is real:

• Irma (September 2017): more than 250,000 JEA customers out — the marquee anchor, with historic St. Johns River flooding downtown.
• Ian (2022): ~20,000 — Jacksonville caught the edge. Milton (2024): minor here (tens of thousands).
• The honest framing: northeast Florida gets lucky more often than the Gulf coast — and one track is all it takes. Irma wasn't even a direct hit.
• (Idalia and Helene JEA-specific counts weren't published — no numbers.)

What a battery does — and the honest mechanism. Grid-tied solar shuts off automatically in an outage (anti-islanding). A battery with backup keeps essential loads running — refrigerator, medical devices, connectivity — and recharges from solar through restoration.

How to pitch it honestly: "Jacksonville's luckier than Fort Myers, and I'll say that straight. Irma still put a quarter-million JEA customers in the dark without a direct hit. A battery is for the year the track comes here."

8. Hidden Costs Avoided / What You Own vs What You Rent

• What you rent: (post-2018) retail power at ~15.4¢ — rising 8.2% in October — while your surplus sells at the fuel rate; (legacy) the power you still buy at that same rising rate — and everyone rents darkness when the grid fails.
• What you own (with the battery): your surplus, kept at retail value on your side of the meter — or, for legacy customers, the parts of energy independence the netting doesn't cover — plus backup for the storm.
• Hidden costs avoided: the $11K takeover bundle + (post-2018) the donated spread + the October increase on unhedged purchases + every restoration's costs.

9. Battery Products

• Backup config (default — hurricane country): Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh; Redline: $20,500), FranklinWH aPower 2 (15 kWh; Redline: $20,500). Not compatible with HDM.

• Self-consumption config: Enphase IQ 5P (10 kWh; Redline: $15,500 SC / $17,600 BU), SolarEdge Home Battery (9.7 kWh usable; Redline: $14,500 SC / $16,000 BU), SolarEdge Nexis (self-consumption only pending crew backup training; Redline: $15,500 SC).

• JEA takeaway: post-2018, size to soak the midday surplus (every exported kWh is a fuel-rate kWh); legacy, size for resilience + evening load — their exports already earn retail; don't oversize to "capture" a spread that isn't there. Confirm cohort and config in the tool.

• Financing terms vary by lender — price deals through the proposal tool.

10. Objection Handling

Universal objections (swap in JEA figures) + JEA-specific objections.

"I'm grandfathered until 2038 — why would I need a battery at all?" (JEA-specific — the honest legacy answer)

"Your netting position is genuinely one of the best in Florida, and I'm not going to invent a threat to it. Here's what it doesn't cover. It doesn't touch the price of the power you still buy — and that rises about eight percent in October, on the calendar. It's worth exactly zero when the grid goes down — Irma put a quarter-million JEA customers in the dark. And it ends in 2038 while your panels keep producing past it. The battery covers all three — configured around your netting, never against it."

"What happens to my grandfathering if I sell the house?" (JEA-specific — the positive inversion, with the Clay contrast)

"Good news, and it surprises people: at JEA it survives the sale. The grandfathering is attached to the system, not to you — the buyer re-interconnects and keeps your retail netting through 2038. That's a genuine listing feature. Two honest footnotes: it doesn't move with YOU — if you buy elsewhere, the new house starts fresh — and don't confuse this with Clay Electric next door, where the rule is the exact opposite and any account change ends it. Different utilities, opposite rules."

"Why is my export credit so small? And what's this 1099 JEA sent me?" (JEA-specific — post-2018, channeling frustration honestly)

"You've read your bill exactly right. Since 2018, JEA credits exports at its fuel rate — a fraction of the retail rate you pay — and whatever credit is left at year-end gets paid out in cash, which is why a payout over six hundred dollars comes with a tax form. I won't defend the structure or predict it changes. What I can do is make it mostly irrelevant: a battery keeps your surplus on your side of the meter, where it's worth full retail to you — no fuel rate, no payout, no 1099. The policy only touches power that leaves your house — so we stop it leaving."

"Should I wait for JEA's battery incentive? I heard they're working on one." (JEA-specific — the honest watch-item answer)

"They're evaluating one — that's public, and we're tracking it. But 'under evaluation' isn't a program: there's no amount, no date, and no guarantee it lands. Meanwhile October's rate increase is on the calendar and every sunny day sells your surplus at the fuel rate. If an incentive materializes, existing battery owners are usually eligible for the operational programs that follow — and if it never lands, waiting cost you the spread the whole time. I'd rather you own the math today than rent a maybe."

"Why is the loan more than the system price?"

"The cash price is $17,000–18,500 depending on config. Service Finance adds dealer fees bringing the financed amount to about $22,068–23,942. Cash or a HELOC is cheaper if that's an option. There's no JEA rebate and the federal credit expired — the value is the spread, the October hedge, the backup, and the takeover."

11. DO SAY / NEVER SAY

12. Required Disclosures

1. ☐ Savings are estimates; JEA rates and the fuel-rate export credit are set by JEA and change (the fuel rate adjusts monthly; rates rise ~8.2% effective October 1, 2026) — verify current figures in the tool.
2. ☐ JEA is a municipal utility not bound by the Florida PSC's net-metering rule; post-April-2018 systems are on net billing: imports at retail, exports credited at the fuel rate, with within-year credit carryforward, annual residual payout, and IRS Form 1099 issued for payouts of $600 or more.
3. ☐ For legacy customers (systems installed by March 31, 2018): retail net metering continues until March 31, 2038; the status is attached to the system — it survives a property sale via re-interconnection and is not transportable to another location.
4. ☐ JEA offers no battery or solar rebate or VPP; a battery incentive under evaluation is not a program and is not represented or priced. No federal ITC after 12/31/2025.
5. ☐ Post-2038 (legacy) and current (post-2018) projections use fuel-rate export crediting with the current figure confirmed at proposal time.
6. ☐ Align Solar Protection is non-transferable; workmanship warranty transfer requires written consent; manufacturer warranties transfer per OEM terms. Align coverage is contingent on inspection + age limits (panels <15 yr, inverters <7 yr).
7. ☐ Backup duration depends on system sizing and load; whole-home air conditioning through a multi-day outage is not implied.
8. ☐ Pricing confirmed in the tool before commitment.

13. Quick-Reference Numbers (dated — confirm before quoting)

• Exports (post-4/1/2018): fuel rate 4.386¢ (July 2026) — resets monthly, 20% MoM cap, confirm in tool; credits carry within year; annual residual payout; 1099 at ≥$600
• Retail: 11.623¢ first tier / 13.373¢ above 1,000 kWh (7.237/8.987 + fuel 4.386¢, July 2026); basic charge $19.25/mo
• THE CLOCK: ~8.2% rate increase October 1, 2026 — dated, citable, both cohorts
• Legacy cohort: retail NM to March 31, 2038 — ATTACHED TO THE SYSTEM: survives a sale (buyer re-interconnects), NOT transportable
• The Clay contrast: JEA = rides the system through a sale; Clay = any change kills it — never mix them
• Programs: none (battery incentive UNDER EVALUATION — watch, never pitch) | Federal ITC: expired 12/31/2025
• Interconnection: ≤2 MW; no active aggregate cap (JEA reserves sole discretion); insurance only >100 kW
• Inverter replacement out-of-pocket: $3,500–5,000 | Takeover bundle: ~$11,800
• Default config: backup $18,500 / self-consumption $17,000
• Customers: ~500,000 accounts (Florida's largest muni) | Storm anchors: Irma 2017 — 250K+ (the marquee); Ian 2022 — ~20K; Milton 2024 — minor (Idalia/Helene: no published JEA counts)

14. Sell Hard, Sell Honest — the standing rules

• October 2026 is the clock; 2038 is the horizon. Press the dated 8.2% hard — it needs no embellishment. Never run 2038 panic on a legacy customer.
• Confirm the cohort before a word of pitch — legacy (netting optimal, don't oversell savings) and post-2018 (spread) are near-opposite stories.
• The fuel rate resets monthly (4.386¢ July 2026; band 3.59–5.97¢ in 2025–26; 7.168¢ at the 2023 peak) — about a third of every kilowatt-hour, and the volatile third. Never quote from memory; the tool carries today's figure. Rep line: "About a third of every kilowatt-hour you buy from JEA is a fuel surcharge that resets every month with gas prices — it's been anywhere from three and a half to seven cents in the last three years. Your solar and battery don't care what gas costs."
• Volunteer the 1099 mechanics — the customer hears it from us first, and it proves we've read their policy closer than anyone.
• Know the Clay contrast cold — neighboring territories, opposite transfer rules; cross-applying either is a checkable error.
• The battery incentive doesn't exist yet — watch item, never pitched, never priced.
• Never quote the federal ITC (expired).