GRU announces rate adjustments 

Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU) announced it will reduce its purchased gas and electric fuel adjustments starting Saturday.  

The GRU release sent Monday stated:   

• A residential electric customer using the industry standard 1,000 kWh will save $15 on their monthly bill. 
•       The average GRU residential electric customer using 800 kWh will save $12 on their monthly bill. 
• A residential natural gas customer using the industry standard 25 therms will save $5 on their monthly bill. 

According to the release, GRU said it makes no money on fuel charges and that these are pass-through costs that are used to cover GRU’s fuel expenses.  

GRU has come under fire from residents who have complained about increasing utility bills. GRU blamed the high rates on natural gas prices.  

This month the Alachua County legislative delegation approved a bill that aims to take GRU governance away from the Gainesville City Commission and give it to a five-member board appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis.  

The delegation decision came after past legislatures asked the Joint Legislative Audit Committee (JLAC) to audit both the city and GRU in 2019 and 2021.  

The 2021 audit had 18 findings in the operational audit done by the state and led to a February JLAC meeting in Tallahassee where pressure was put on the city to deal with the high utility debt. The meeting focused on GRU’s $1.69 billion debt and 80% debt ratio, which the state auditor said is four times higher than similar utilities.  

The City Commission approved a rate schedule at its Sept. 22, 2022, meeting that will raise residential rates every year through 2027.