On March 9th, the gas rebate issue finally went before the City Commission. GRU presented their reasons for wanting to retain the rebate program - helps to expand customer base and therefore increases income. Utility Advisory Board (UAB) chair Barry Jacobson gave excellent rebuttals to their arguments including statements to the fact that their math regarding income is very inadequate and probably just wrong. However, the commission decided to take no action so the rebate program will remain in place for now and we do not expect any changes to the program in the near future. In addition, market forces are aligned against future home gas use and, while it will take longer than we would like, we believe the gas rebate program will eventually die from attrition.
However, we are not giving up on reducing GRU’s direct gas sales.
On May 11, we expect the commission will hear a presentation from GRU on gas infrastructure plans and their reasons for continued expansion of gas pipelines in western Alachua County. We are against adding more gas infrastructure for the same reasons we are against the rebate program and will be redirecting our efforts toward preventing this expansion. Additionally, given that federal policy and market forces are currently running counter to the use of residential use of natural gas, investing in more gas infrastructure makes no financial sense for GRU.
The gas rebates are on the General Policy meeting agenda for this Thursday, March 9th at 1:00 PM and also GRU’s recommendation to continue expanding gas infrastructure.
Please plan to attend the meeting and/or write letters to your City Commissioner and then reach out to your friends, family, neighbors, and members of your organizations and ask them to attend or write letters to the Gainesville City Commission as well. This is the last time the City Commission will consider this issue for the foreseeable future.
We expect that GRU, against eliminating the current gas rebate, will present their side of the argument at the December 1st City Commission meeting. Now is the time to get a letter to the commission asking them to stop providing fossil fuel rebates. Even if you sent one in previously, send another! And, if you can, please come to the December 1st meeting to make public comments.
For the past couple of years, the Natural Resources Committee has been asking GRU to stop promoting fossil gas by providing up to $1600 in rebates to customers who buy/convert to gas appliances. In the fall of 2021, the City Commission asked GRU to review its rebate policies to see how eliminating the gas rebates would affect its income.
After being postponed for two months, the Utility Advisory Board (UAB) heard a presentation from GRU staff regarding the rebates on September 14. NR committee members Nancy Deren and Roberta Gastmeyer asked the UAB to make a recommendation to the City Commission to discontinue the rebate program as per our League-approved position, but no motion was made.
We still need public pressure to ensure that these fossil gas rebates are eliminated once and for all. Please send a letter to the UAB, GRU, and City Commission and/or attend meetings to voice your opposition to the rebates. Read on for more information and sample letter templates. Use these quick links to jump to the section of interest.
Overview
For the past couple of years, climate activists have been asking GRU to:
- stop promoting fossil gas as a “clean” fuel
- stop providing up to $1600 in rebates to customers who buy/convert to gas appliances
- stop expanding gas pipelines which provide fossil gas to neighborhoods
- create a rebate plan that would help low-income neighbors purchase efficient electric appliances
In the fall of 2021, the City Commission voted to have GRU remove all references to “clean gas” from its advertising campaigns and further asked GRU to review its rebate policies to see how eliminating the gas rebates would affect its income.
On August 11th, we sent
the attached letter to express our opposition to the rebate program.
On September 14th, the Utility Advisory Board (UAB) heard a presentation from GRU staff on gas rebates. Under the previous GRU General Manager, GRU was very resistant to changing its rebate policy. While we feel the current interim GM, Tony Cunningham, is less resistant, there is still a lot of internal pressure to continue providing gas rebates and expanding access to gas outside of GRU's electric service boundary. NR committee members Nancy Deren and Roberta Gastmeyer asked the UAB to make a recommendation to the City Commission to discontinue the rebate program as per our League-approved position, but no motion was made.
Please:
- send a letter to the UAB, GRU and City Commission (see more info and sample letter below)
- share on your social media
- attend meetings to voice your opposition to the rebates; check the meeting calendar for the current details.
cunninghaal [at] gru.com (Interim General Manager, Tony Cunningham)
citycomm [at] cityofgainesville.org (Gainesville City Commission)
Background
Fossil Gas is worse than coal in the short term
The burning of coal in power plants, historically the largest source of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, has declined significantly in the US, but has been replaced mostly by fossil gas which now supplies three-fourths of the electricity generation in Florida. The oil and gas industries promote fossil gas as “natural” and “clean”, but recent scientific studies show that methane, the greenhouse gas released during the production, transportation, and burning of “natural” gas, has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after entering the atmosphere. So, while CO2 has a longer-lasting climate effect, methane is the pollutant that will cause warming in the near term.
We must cut methane/ Stop the expansion of infrastructure
The key to cutting methane emissions quickly is to stop building any new fossil-gas infrastructure and, in this case, infrastructure means everything from gas pipelines and power plants to household appliances and lawnmowers. Each time we replace a machine of any type or size, it must be with an electric machine and we must do this while simultaneously increasing clean, renewable energy production which can power all those electric machines.
Cities throughout the country have started banning new gas infrastructure and passing laws that prohibit the expanded use of gas in buildings, citing not only the fact that we must electrify everything in order to meet climate goals, but also the science that shows negative health effects on those who burn natural gas in their homes.
Recognizing the threat to their profits, the gas industry pushed through a bill during the 2021 Florida legislative session to preempt similar actions in our state. However, there are still things we can do locally to curb expansion of fossil fuel use.
GRU Gas Promotion and Rebates
GRU actively promotes gas use in homes by running ads on the radio, in magazines, and on mailers which promote gas as environmentally-friendly, safe, and cheap. GRU also subsidizes these new customers with up to $1,600 in rebates for new gas appliances. Eighty-eight percent of these rebates go to developers of new neighborhoods for which GRU must run new gas pipelines. This is the exact opposite of what we need to be doing.
GRU’s main argument for promoting greater gas use is that it provides additional, long-term customers that are otherwise inaccessible to GRU. The Florida’s Public Service Commission (PSC) regulates electric service boundaries, so GRU’s electric customer base is restricted to a defined area in Alachua County. However, the direct sale of gas to homes and commercial buildings is not regulated in the same way so GRU is able to solicit new customers outside of its defined electricity service boundaries.
Fulfilling the City commitment
In 2018, Gainesville established a goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy and reaching net zero community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045 or earlier, if possible. To stave off the worst effects of climate change, we must immediately move beyond resolutions to concrete actions, the first of which is to stop all additional fossil fuel investments. The UAB, GRU and the City Commission need to hear from the public that GRU’s promotion & subsidization of natural gas undermines the City’s credibility on its commitment to reduce fossil fuel use.
Sample Letters
Sample Letter 1
I am writing to request that GRU discontinue all natural gas rebates.
Gainesville has an established a goal of transitioning to 100% renewable energy and reaching net zero community-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2045 or earlier. To prevent the worst effects of climate change, we must immediately move beyond resolutions to concrete actions, the first of which is to stop all additional fossil fuel investments.
By promoting and subsidizing increased use of gas in our homes, GRU is doing the exact
opposite of what we need to do. Adding long-term fossil fuel customers is incompatible with the City’s commitment to reduce fossil fuel use. We must instead create a plan to transition away from using gas in our buildings.
Sample Letter 2
I am writing to request that GRU discontinue all natural gas rebates.
Methane, the greenhouse gas released during the production, transportation, and burning of natural gas, has 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide for the first 20 years after being released. Levels of methane in the atmosphere have been growing rapidly over the last 15 years, spurred on by our increased consumption of natural gas. We now know that curbing our methane emissions is just as important to mitigating climate change as reducing CO2, maybe even more so in the short term.
We also know that methane is accompanied by highly toxic chemicals and poses major health and safety hazards. In the home, gas appliances, especially gas stoves, have been linked to poor indoor air quality and negative health impacts in vulnerable populations, including children with asthma and the elderly.
Recognizing the urgency, cities across the nation have started banning new gas infrastructure and passing laws to prohibit the expanded use of gas in buildings.
By promoting and subsidizing increased use of gas in our homes, GRU is doing the exact opposite of what we need to do. Adding long-term fossil fuel customers is incompatible with the City of Gainesville’s 2018 commitment to moving toward 100% clean renewable energy.
We must instead create a plan to transition away from using gas in our buildings. The first obvious step is to eliminate the rebates. Additionally, we must:
- stop any proposals for new gas infrastructure;
- slow down gas infrastructure replacement programs while aggressively seeking out and repairing leaks;
- decommission aging gas lines through targeted, neighborhood-level electrification;
- design a robust incentive program that will allow low to moderate income neighbors to participate in the transition by replacing aging appliances and air conditioning systems with more efficient electric appliances and systems using recognized heat pump technologies.
We know a shift away from fossil fuel infrastructure is inevitable and that we must do it quickly. To protect utility customers from bearing the costs of an outdated infrastructure in the future, we must stop investing in it today.
