Bielarski: Fact or Fiction, Part 2

Letter to the editor

Are GRU utility services outrageously expensive?

Purpose

As the general manager under the Gainesville City Commission for several years and the CEO under the nearly new GRU Authority, I am uniquely qualified to provide perspective on the rhetoric you may be hearing about GRU’s current governance. To help navigate this rocky road, I am writing a series of articles to address subjects that I think need clarification or, in some cases, are simply untrue. If you have specific questions about GRU or want to clear up something you’ve heard, please feel free to email me at bielarskiej@gru.com.  

Claim

GRU utility services are outrageously expensive. 

Facts:

Key Point #1: The reality is that GRU electric bills have dropped 11% since the formation of the GRU Authority, the utility’s independent board. 

As recently as March of 2023, GRU had the highest average residential electric bills in the state. However, since the Authority took over as GRU’s governing board in October 2023, customers have benefited from significant changes to the way GRU conducts business – paying down dramatic levels of debt; declaring no increases in the electric base rates for two consecutive years; and approving modest increases in operating expenses (lower than the cost of inflation). The results have been dramatic.

As reflected on the chart from the Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA), GRU’s monthly residential electric bills have fallen from the highest to the 14^th-highest in the state and are now within 7% of the state average.

Taking data from the same FMEA source, you can see that since the Authority has been seated, GRU’s residential customer’s average electric bill has fallen from $28 more than the state average to less than $10 more ($9.44).

Even Fitch Ratings Agency, one of the three preeminent bond-rating agencies in the world, now calls GRU’s electric charges “affordable.”  

Key Point #2: It’s not only GRU’s electric bills that are more affordable, but its entire basket of services provided are some of the most affordable in Florida.

The following chart shows that, of the major metropolitan areas from Central Florida up through Jacksonville and across to Pensacola, GRU’s combined cost of electricity, water, wastewater, and natural gas is lower than all regions other than Lakeland (Lakeland Electric) and Kissimmee (Kissimmee Utility Authority), which are less than $5 lower.  

Summary

It’s a myth that GRU’s utility services are outrageously high. In fact, the numbers reflect affordable rates/bills for all GRU services, unless one’s housing conditions include 1) poor or inadequate wall, roof, and window insulation; 2) low efficiency heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; and/or 3) personal choices in regard to thermostat settings (every 2-degree shift in setting results in an 8% increase or decrease in electric usage).

It’s also a myth that GRU doesn’t care about the financial plight of many of these customers. While GRU offers free home energy surveys to all its customers, we are proud of the opportunities provided for low-income customers to participate in the Low-income Energy Efficiency Program^plus (LEEP^plus).

Over the past 18 years, GRU has retrofitted 2,413 homes at a cost of $9,716,070. For that investment from GRU, the most vulnerable of our customers have seen an average electric usage reduction of 145 kWh monthly, or 13.9%, saving these customers about $21/month.

GRU CEO Ed Bielarski, Gainesville

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