Which electric bill decides your AC rebate on the First Coast: JEA, Beaches Energy, Clay Electric or FPL

A replacement quote on the First Coast usually has a line near the bottom that says “utility rebate,” and the number on it is only right if the contractor looked at your electric bill first. Jacksonville and its suburbs are served by four electric utilities, five if you count Fernandina Beach, and every one of them writes its own rule. The efficiency the equipment has to meet, the document you have to produce, the number of days you have to produce it, and who is allowed to install the system all change at the utility boundary, which can run down the middle of a subdivision.

This guide walks through the four rules as each utility publishes them, in the order you are most likely to meet them. It does not quote amounts: they change by program year, and the utility’s own page is the only source that is current. The federal Section 25C tax credit is not on this list because it ended for property placed in service after December 31, 2025; a sales sheet that still lists it is out of date. Other programs, such as Florida’s home energy rebates, have their own eligibility and are worth checking separately.

First, read the bill

The name at the top of the electric bill is the only thing that matters. On the First Coast that is one of:

• JEA: the City of Jacksonville and most of Duval County, Atlantic Beach and Mayport, and parts of St. Johns, Clay and Nassau.
• Beaches Energy Services: Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Valley.
• Clay Electric Cooperative: Middleburg, Lake Asbury, much of Fleming Island, parts of Oakleaf and the outer Westside.
• FPL: St. Augustine, Nocatee, Yulee and mainland Nassau, and some streets south of Julington Creek.
• Florida Public Utilities: Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island.

Two houses a few miles apart in Ponte Vedra can be on different utilities; so can two streets in Fruit Cove or Oakleaf. Ask the contractor to write the utility on the quote.

JEA

JEA’s heating and cooling rebate covers ENERGY STAR-certified central air conditioners, heat pumps and ductless mini-split systems for residential electric customers. JEA’s application form lists 16 SEER2 for central AC, heat pumps and mini-splits, wants a paid invoice with the installation date, and takes the application within 90 days of installation; JEA’s web page adds 8.0 HSPF2 for heat pumps. The form and the web page currently show different program years and criteria, so confirm both with JEA before counting on the rebate. JEA allows two rebates per product type per address every seven years. JEA also lists a separate rebate for an HVAC tune-up; the qualifying checklist and the limits are on that page.

What to keep: the paid invoice with the model numbers, and the ENERGY STAR listing for the matched system. The contractor usually files; ask them to, and ask for a copy.

Beaches Energy Services

Beaches Energy offers rebates to residential customers for air conditioners and heat pumps in existing homes, in two tiers, at SEER 15 and at SEER 16 or higher (the utility’s page uses the older SEER scale). Forms and documentation, including the proof-of-purchase invoice, have to be submitted within 90 days of installation, in person, by mail or by email, and the page is blunt about the consequence: incomplete or missing paperwork delays or denies the rebate. New construction does not qualify.

What to keep: the completed form, the invoice, and the AHRI certificate that shows the matched system’s rating.

Clay Electric Cooperative

Clay Electric’s Energy Smart program pays a bill credit for a heat pump at 15.2 SEER2 (16 SEER) or higher, between 12,000 and 60,000 BTU, on an active Clay Electric account. The application wants a detailed invoice with name, date, address, brand, model and cost, plus the AHRI certificate; quotes and proposals are not accepted in place of the invoice. Before-and-after photos are required and the co-op may inspect. The deadline is 180 days from the purchase date, and processing takes six to eight weeks.

What to keep: everything above, plus a photo of the old equipment before it leaves. The credit cannot exceed the purchase price.

FPL

FPL’s rebate is different in kind: an instant credit that appears on the contractor’s invoice, with no form for you to send. It applies to a complete new system, indoor and outdoor units together, rated 15.2 SEER2 or higher, installed at a residence with an active FPL account by one of FPL’s Participating Independent Contractors. That last condition is the one to check before the quote: a contractor who is not a PIC cannot give you the credit, however good the equipment.

What to keep: the invoice that shows the credit, and the contractor’s PIC status in writing.

Florida Public Utilities

FPU serves Fernandina Beach and Amelia Island. Its residential programs are FPU’s to describe, and this guide does not summarize them; call FPU or read its site before you count on a rebate, and ask the contractor whether they have filed one there before.

The AHRI certificate

Three of the four programs want a document most homeowners have never seen. The AHRI certificate is the record, from the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute’s directory, that a specific outdoor unit matched with a specific indoor coil or air handler tested at a specific SEER2 and HSPF2. A quote that lists only the outdoor unit does not have a rating yet; ask for the AHRI reference number on the quote, and the certificate with the invoice. The same number is what the permit inspector and the four-point inspector may ask about later.

The order of operations

1. Read the bill and write the utility on the quote.
2. Ask whether the equipment meets that utility’s floor: ENERGY STAR and 16 SEER2 for JEA, 15.2 SEER2 for Clay Electric and FPL, SEER 15 or 16 for Beaches Energy.
3. For FPL, confirm the contractor is a Participating Independent Contractor before you sign.
4. Ask who files, and get copies: invoice, AHRI certificate, form, photos.
5. Watch the calendar: 90 days for JEA and Beaches Energy, 180 for Clay Electric, and JEA’s deadline is the one on its page (the page and the application form currently disagree on the program year).

None of this changes the permit. A change-out on the First Coast is a mechanical permit through the City of Jacksonville, your beach city or your county, pulled by the contractor under their own license; the 2026 state exemption for small jobs does not cover mechanical work. The rebate paperwork and the permit are two separate stacks, and a good contractor hands you both.

Rebate terms are summarized from each utility’s published page as of September 2026 and change by program year; the utility’s page is the source, and the contractor who does the work is responsible for the equipment, the permit and the filing.