Sunprint
The short answer
A high GRU electric bill usually comes down to four things. Every kWh above 1,000 in a month costs 43 percent more in base charges than the first 1,000, so a hot or cold month gets expensive fast. The fuel adjustment changes month to month; it rose from 3.5 cents per kWh in December 2025 to 5.5 cents in April 2026, after winter storms sent natural gas prices soaring. Billing cycles have run from 28 to 33 days. And behind the rates, GRU carries heavy debt, much of it from a 2017 buyout of a costly biomass power contract.
Two things have gone the other way: GRU hasn't raised its overall electric base rates since October 2023 (though a 2025 change shifted more of the cost onto big users), and it now sends far less money to the City of Gainesville than it did.
The 1,000 kWh line
GRU prices residential electricity in two tiers. The first 1,000 kWh each month cost 8.46 cents each in base charges; every kWh above that costs 12.13 cents. The fuel adjustment, 5.00 cents in September 2026, applies to all of them. Here is what that does to a bill at different sizes:
| Used in the month | Bill before taxes | Average per kWh | Each extra kWh |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 kWh | $84.30 | 16.9 cents | 13.46 cents |
| 800 kWh (about GRU's average home) | $124.68 | 15.6 cents | 13.46 cents |
| 1,000 kWh | $151.60 | 15.2 cents | 13.46 cents |
| 1,200 kWh | $185.86 | 15.5 cents | 17.13 cents |
| 1,500 kWh | $237.25 | 15.8 cents | 17.13 cents |
| 2,000 kWh | $322.90 | 16.1 cents | 17.13 cents |
| 2,500 kWh | $408.55 | 16.3 cents | 17.13 cents |
The average cost per kWh is highest at both ends: small users spread the $17.00 customer charge over fewer kWh, and big users pay 17.13 cents for everything past 1,000. So the cheapest kWh you can save is one above 1,000.
GRU set up the current tiers on January 1, 2025. The lower tier used to end at 850 kWh; the GRU Authority widened it to 1,000 kWh and raised the upper tier from 11.21 to 12.13 cents so the change brought in the same revenue. A 1,000 kWh bill dropped $4.13. By GRU's estimate, 59 percent of customers (those using 851 to 1,450 kWh a month) saw lower bills, 24 percent saw no change, and the 17 percent using more than about 1,450 kWh pay more. If your summer bills rose in 2025 with no change in how you live, this is a likely reason.
The fuel charge moves every month
The fuel adjustment covers what GRU pays for the fuel it burns, so it follows natural gas prices. GRU says it passes fuel through at cost, with no profit.
GRU's fuel adjustment, month by month
Cents per kWh, October 2021 to September 2026
Source: GRU monthly billing factors. On a 1,000 kWh bill, each half-cent step is $5.
When gas spiked in 2021 and 2022, GRU's monthly fuel costs went from about $6.6 million in July 2020 to $20 million in July 2022, and the charge climbed to 8 cents a kWh, where it stayed from July 2022 through March 2023. It then fell in steps to 3.5 cents in April 2024 and held there for 21 months.
Winter 2025 to 2026 reversed that. GRU raised the charge to 4.0 cents in January, 4.5 in February, 5.0 in March and 5.5 in April, saying winter storms had caused natural gas shortages; its CEO said gas had jumped from $5 to $40 per MMBtu. GRU cut it back to 5.0 cents on June 1, 2026. So the same 1,000 kWh cost $20 more in April 2026 than in December 2025.
GRU says it often runs its Deerhaven Renewable biomass plant more when natural gas gets expensive, and it has signed long-term prepaid gas deals that it projected would save more than $3 million a year. Fuel charges are also exempt from the city and county utility taxes and the out-of-city surcharge.
Billing days, true-ups and city fees
- Longer bills. GRU's billing cycles have ranged from 28 to 33 days, the industry practice GRU cites. A 33-day bill carries about 18 percent more days than a 28-day one. After questions from customers, GRU is holding billing cycles to 30 or 31 days starting October 1, 2026.
- The January 2025 true-up. When GRU started a new meter-reading schedule in January 2025, it "trued-up" days left unbilled from the year before, and some Gainesville residents got higher refuse and stormwater charges. GRU later credited the affected accounts.
- City fees are leaving the bill. Stormwater and refuse charges, which GRU only collects for the city, stop appearing on GRU bills for service from October 1, 2026; the city is moving that billing to the Alachua County Tax Collector.
- Budget billing's December catch-up. On GRU's Budget Billing, you pay the average of your last 12 bills, and GRU settles the difference on the December bill. If the year ran hot or cold, that December bill can be a surprise.
- Readings. GRU finished installing digital (AMI) electric meters by September 2025 and uses them for daily reads, which should make estimated electric bills rarer than in 2022, when a meter-reader shortage led GRU to estimate usage on some routes each month.
The biomass plant and GRU's debt
2009: a 30-year deal to buy biomass power. 2013: the plant starts running. 2017: GRU buys the plant to end the contract. October 2026: $518.0 million of that purchase still owed.
In April 2009, Gainesville signed a 30-year contract to buy power from a new wood-burning biomass plant. The plant started running in December 2013, and the contract required high fixed payments for its availability whether GRU needed the power or not. By 2017 the city's own auditor counted at least $1.9 billion still to be paid over the remaining 26 years, and noted that many residents and officials had concluded the contract was poorly negotiated.
To get out of it, the city agreed in 2017 to buy the 102.5-megawatt plant for $750 million. GRU took ownership in November 2017, and the plant is now its Deerhaven Renewable Generating Station. GRU financed most of the price with $680.9 million in bonds, which are repaid from customers' bills. In 2023, S&P Global Ratings listed "legacy investments contributing to high power costs and rates" among GRU's credit risks.
What's left of the biomass plant debt
Principal on the 2017 purchase: November 2017, then each October 1, in millions of dollars
Still owed ($518.0M on October 1, 2026)Paid on schedule ($99.5M)Paid early ($63.4M)
Source: GRU Authority agenda, September 9, 2026, "Deerhaven Renewables debt reduction to date."
Across all its services, GRU had $1.71 billion in revenue bonds outstanding on September 30, 2025, down from $1.85 billion two years earlier. Since 2020 it has retired $97.1 million of bonds early (counting a payment set for September 2026), and it plans to cut debt by about $400 million by 2035. Debt is also where a large share of every bill goes:
Each square is one cent of GRU's $438.5 million budget for October 2026 to September 2027, covering all its services. Source: GRU fiscal 2027 budget.
New borrowing continues too: in August 2026, GRU sold $265 million of bonds for improvements across its systems, including its Main Street water reclamation facility, and to refinance older debt, which GRU says will save about $11 million in future interest.
The transfer to the city
GRU also pays part of its revenue into the City of Gainesville's general fund, which helps pay for city services; GRU describes it as a substitute for property taxes, franchise fees and a return to shareholders. The transfer peaked at $38.3 million a year in fiscal 2019, 2020 and 2021. GRU's audited statements show that in those years, and again in 2023, it was larger than GRU's income before the transfer, so the utility's net position shrank.
GRU's transfer to the City of Gainesville, by fiscal year
Millions of dollars. Fiscal years run October to September.
Over $30 millionAfter the cutsBudgeted
The City Commission started the cuts: $2 million a year in fiscal 2022 and 2023, then, in April 2023, a new formula that brought the transfer to $15.3 million as part of a 10-year plan to reduce GRU's net debt by $315 million. The GRU Authority kept that formula and, starting in fiscal 2025, subtracts $6.8 million a year for 10 years to recover $68 million it counts as overpaid from 2018 to 2021. That leaves about $8.5 million a year, and the savings go to paying down debt. GRU credits the lower transfer and cost cutting for sparing customers a cumulative 9 percent base rate increase the City Commission had approved. The 2023 law that created the Authority also caps the transfer at the net revenues left after debt service, operating costs and a contribution for plant improvements.
Who sets GRU's rates now
Chapter 2023-348, Laws of Florida, creates the Gainesville Regional Utilities Authority: five members appointed by the governor, who must live in GRU's territory and take its electric service. The Authority sets GRU's rates. Its members took office October 1, 2023.
City voters approved a charter change to dissolve the Authority. In April 2025 a trial court voided the vote over its ballot wording while upholding the city's power to dissolve the Authority, and both sides appealed.
Voters approved a new charter change. The next day, the First District Court of Appeal barred it from dissolving the Authority until the court decides the first case.
Chapter 2026-135 says the subject of a regional utilities authority created by the Legislature through a charter amendment after January 1, 2023 "is expressly preempted to the state." As of GRU's September 2026 board meeting, the appeal was still awaiting a decision.
For your bill, the practical point is that GRU's rates are set locally, by the Authority for now. The Florida Public Service Commission doesn't set a city utility's rates; its authority over them covers rate structure.
Is GRU expensive?
It depends on how much power you use. The Florida Municipal Electric Association compares residential bills at 37 Florida utilities, city-owned and investor-owned, every month. In August 2026, each square below is one utility, from cheapest on the left to priciest on the right:
Source: Florida Municipal Electric Association, electric bill comparison, August 2026. City utility figures include payments to the city; investor-owned figures include typical franchise fees. GRU's figures are before taxes and surcharges.
At 1,000 kWh, eight utilities charged more than GRU; at 2,500 kWh, only two did. That's the upper tier at work. It has been worse: GRU says its 1,000 kWh bill was Florida's second highest in September 2022, at $179.59, when the fuel charge was 8 cents. As the fuel charge fell and the tiers changed, GRU says it dropped to 12th highest ($136.40) by May 2025, and the 2026 fuel increases pushed it back up.
Taxes, surcharges, water and wastewater
A GRU bill often covers more than electricity. The rate sheet adds these to the charges above:
| Item | What GRU's rate sheet says |
|---|---|
| Utility tax | 10 percent on electric, gas and water charges (not the fuel adjustment), levied by the City of Gainesville, Alachua County or the City of Alachua depending on where you live. Some cities also charge franchise fees. |
| Out-of-city surcharge | 10 percent on electric charges (not fuel) for customers outside Gainesville's city limits, and 25 percent on water and wastewater. |
| Gross receipts tax | A 2.5 percent state tax on electric charges, applied to all customers. |
| Water | Customer charge by meter size, then $2.51 per 1,000 gallons up to 4,000, $3.94 up to 12,000 and $6.15 above that. Heavy lawn watering can push a month into the top tier. |
| Wastewater | $10.65 a month plus $7.42 per 1,000 gallons of metered water, capped at 12,000 gallons. |
For the year starting October 1, 2026, GRU's budget raises water rates 2 percent and wastewater 1.75 percent and keeps electric and natural gas base rates the same.
What lowers a GRU bill
- A free home energy and water survey. A GRU conservation analyst checks windows, doors, ductwork, insulation and appliances at no charge and gives tips for your home.
- Trim the kWh above 1,000 first. Each one costs 17.13 cents at September 2026's fuel charge, against 13.46 cents below the line.
- Go easy on heat strips. GRU's winter advice is to raise the thermostat one or two degrees at a time so a heat pump doesn't switch on its expensive emergency heat strips.
- Low-income upgrades. GRU's Low-income Energy Efficiency Program Plus provides free efficiency upgrades to qualifying customers.
- Payment breathing room. Residential customers get a seven-day grace period plus an automatic seven-day extension (late fees still apply), and GRU offers installment plans and hardship extensions.
For causes every Florida utility shares, such as heat strips and billing days, see our guide to why Florida electric bills run high.
When solar fits a high GRU bill
GRU credits the power new solar systems send to the grid at its fuel adjustment rate, 5.00 cents in September 2026, while power you use at home as the panels make it saves the full 13.46 to 17.13 cents. So solar pays best at GRU when most of its output is used in the house, and the kWh above 1,000 are the most valuable ones to replace. Our GRU solar guide covers the export credit, GRU's connection steps and what a given bill needs. The calculator below starts with GRU selected.
Your estimate in three steps
- Enter your billYour ZIP code, your utility and last month's bill.
- See your estimateA yearly savings range based on your utility's rates and Florida sun.
- Choose what's nextAsk for a quote call if you want real pricing, or just keep the number.
See what solar could save you
It takes about a minute. You don't need a site visit, a commitment or a sales call to see your number.
Common questions
Why is my GRU bill so high this month?
Check three things. How many kWh you used: every kWh above 1,000 costs 12.13 cents in base charges instead of 8.46. The fuel adjustment: GRU changes it by month, and it rose from 3.5 to 5.5 cents per kWh between January and April 2026 before falling to 5.0 in June. And the billing days: GRU's cycles have run from 28 to 33 days, until a change to 30 or 31 days from October 1, 2026.
Why is GRU so expensive?
Mostly because of debt and history. GRU borrowed $680.9 million in 2017 to buy out a costly 30-year biomass power contract, and for years it paid the city $38.3 million a year, more than its income in some years. Its 1,000 kWh bill was Florida's second highest in September 2022, GRU says. GRU hasn't raised its overall electric base rates since October 2023, but its upper tier still makes large bills among the state's priciest: third highest of 37 utilities at 2,500 kWh in August 2026.
What is GRU's rate per kWh?
For homes, 8.46 cents per kWh for the first 1,000 kWh a month and 12.13 cents above that, plus a $17.00 monthly customer charge and the fuel adjustment, which was 5.00 cents in September 2026. That makes about 13.46 cents per kWh below 1,000 and 17.13 cents above, before taxes and surcharges.
Is GRU raising rates in 2026?
Not electric base rates. GRU's budget for the year starting October 1, 2026 holds electric and natural gas base rates steady for the third year in a row, and raises water 2 percent and wastewater 1.75 percent. The fuel adjustment can still change any month.
What is the GRU fuel adjustment?
A pass-through charge on every kWh that covers what GRU pays for fuel. GRU says it makes no profit on it. It was 3.5 cents per kWh from April 2024 through December 2025, rose to 5.5 cents by April 2026 after winter storms drove up natural gas prices, and has been 5.0 cents since June 1, 2026. It peaked at 8.0 cents from July 2022 to March 2023.
How much debt does GRU have?
GRU had $1.71 billion in revenue bonds outstanding on September 30, 2025, for all its services. Of the $680.9 million borrowed for the 2017 biomass plant purchase, GRU's schedule shows $518.0 million owed as of October 1, 2026. GRU plans to cut debt by about $400 million by 2035.
What is the GRU Authority?
A five-member board appointed by the governor under a 2023 state law, Chapter 2023-348, which took control of GRU from the Gainesville City Commission in October 2023 and sets its rates. City voters approved dissolving it in 2024 and 2025, but courts blocked both votes, a 2026 state law preempted the subject to the state, and an appeal was still pending in September 2026.
How does GRU budget billing work?
You pay the average of your last 12 monthly bills. GRU still reads your meter, tracks the difference, and settles it on the December bill, then starts a new calculation each January.
Can solar lower my GRU bill?
It can, mainly through the power you use at home as your panels make it, which saves 13.46 to 17.13 cents per kWh. GRU credits power sent to the grid from new systems at its fuel adjustment rate, 5.00 cents in September 2026. Our GRU solar guide explains the credit and sizing.
Related guides
- Solar for GRU customers: the fuel-rate export credit
- Why is my electric bill so high in Florida?
- What's the average electric bill in Florida?
- Solar in North Florida
- Solar battery backup in Florida
Rates here are from GRU's residential rate sheet effective October 1, 2025, which GRU kept for fiscal 2027, with the fuel adjustment of June to September 2026. The fuel adjustment can change monthly; taxes and surcharges depend on where you live. Sources: GRU residential rates, effective October 1, 2025 (PDF) · GRU monthly billing factors, October 2021 to September 2026 (PDF) · GRU fiscal year 2027 rates · GRU news releases on the fuel adjustment, the 2025 tier change, budgets and bond ratings · GRU fiscal 2027 budget (PDF) · GRU audited financial statements, fiscal 2025 (PDF) · GRU audited financial statements, fiscal 2023 (PDF) · GRU audited financial statements, fiscal 2021 (PDF) · GRU Authority agenda package, September 9, 2026 (PDF) · City of Gainesville, Office of the City Auditor, GREC asset purchase evaluation, May 2017 (PDF) · Chapter 2023-348, Laws of Florida · CS/CS/HB 1451 (2026), Chapter 2026-135, Laws of Florida · Florida Statutes 366.04 · Florida Municipal Electric Association bill comparison, August 2026 (PDF) · GRU Budget Billing · GRU energy and water surveys · WCJB on the November 2025 referendum and appeals court order. Reviewed September 2026.
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