Gainesville Regional Utilities rates will increase for all services beginning Oct. 1 — a measure OK’d by the City Commission that may leave businesses unharmed but strain families, some residents say.
Due to the addition of the biomass plant, residential utilities prices will increase by 7.3 percent, or about $17 per month, based on the company’s projections, said GRU spokeswoman Amelia Bell.
“The key reasons for the increases are declining sales over the past several years and the addition of a new renewable generation source,” Bell wrote in an email.
Evelyn Foxx, president of the Alachua County branch of the NAACP, said the projected rate increase is both disheartening and disturbing.
“If your rates go up $15 a month, that’s money you don’t have to buy medication or put food on your table,” she said. “It doesn’t look very promising.”
Foxx said the lower-income population of Gainesville will likely bear the brunt of the increase.
“We disproportionately pay most of it, even with the rate changes,” Foxx said. “It’s a no-win situation, so we just got to deal with it, fussing about it isn’t going to do any good.”
But for some businesses, the rate changes that will soon take effect are negligible.
Roger Beebe, owner of local store Video Rodeo, said the rates will affect his business, but the benefits of the plant outweigh the rising costs.
“I hear people complaining that the GRU rates are going to make or break us, and I think that’s sort of insane,” he said. “I think if we pay a few more pennies — or a few more dollars — each month, it’s not going to drive us out of business.”
Beebe said because his business doesn’t create huge profits, any fluctuation in finances makes a difference. Still, he is in favor of the biomass plant and is OK with paying the increased rates.
Jonathan Watkins, manager of Modern Age Tobacco and Gift Shop, agreed that although the rate changes are noticeable, they will “not be that significant” in the long run.
Bell said GRU is also making efforts to reduce the effect of the biomass plant by refinancing existing debts and cutting the original 2014 budget by about $10.8 million.
City Commissioner Thomas Hawkins said the plant is more expensive because it is new, and the type of fuel used has nothing to do with the price increase.
“The biggest driver in increasing costs is the purchase power agreement for the biomass plant,” he said. “The first couple of years you pay above market, but in the long run, you save money.”
A version of this story ran on page 4 on 9/11/2013 under the headline "City, residents mull effects of upcoming utilities rate increase"
