Knowledgeable utility industry observers have forecasted that utility managers willbe facing a number of issues in the near future including consolidation, deregulation, widespread use of benchmarking, and expanded use of technology and other tools. Since 1997, JEA (formerly the Jacksonville Electric Authority), a municipally-owned utility, has dealt with all of these issues and more. In 1997, JEA merged with the water and wastewater operations of the City of Jacksonville, Florida. This paper will evaluate the first three years of the merged operation, identifying those areas where the utility has been successful in achieving its goals, as well asthose areas where it has fallen short. Key benchmark trends from 1997 to 2000 will be presented. The paper defines the financial benefits of the merger--the utility's ability to issue higher rated debt and to achieve greater earnings on available funds. The paper also presents customer service and field operations benchmark data for the combined utility and compares it against water and wastewater only utilities. Includes 3 references, figures.