Greenville Utilities wrapped up a week of celebrating the unique value public utilities bring to their communities. Recognized during the first full week of October each year, Public Power Week and Public Natural Gas Week celebrate the unique benefits that more than 2,000 public utilities nationwide provide to their customers and communities — advantages such as unbeaten reliability, local control, low rates, and a focus on communities instead of profits.
“Public utilities like GUC are different than investor-owned utilities. Our focus is on our communities, not on making profits for shareholders,” said GUC General Manager/CEO Tony Cannon. “Decisions are made locally in the best interest of the community, and the money made here is reinvested in our systems and our community.”
As a result of this continued reinvesting, GUC electric customers experienced 58% fewer outages than local investor-owned utilities in 2024 and restored those outages an average of 36 minutes faster.
This fiscal year, GUC is turning over more than $9 million to the City of Greenville in lieu of property taxes. That’s money that gets used for parks, police, fire protection, and other City services. GUC is doing this even while it has some of the lowest utility rates in the state.
When a majority of GUC customers said that they were willing to pay extra to reduce carbon emissions on two customer surveys in a row, GUC’s Board of Commissioners responded to this local need and approved the area’s first publicly owned community solar farm (second in the state). The project allows customers who may not be able to have solar at their own homes to participate in solar energy without forcing other customers to pay for it.
“Unbeaten reliability, local control, and community focus are just a few of the advantages that public power customers enjoy,” said Roy Jones, CEO of ElectriCities, a membership organization that provides services and support to public power communities in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. “This week, and throughout the year, we celebrate these benefits that provide a better quality of life in Greenville and all of our public power communities.”
GUC serves nearly 175,000 customers. Owned by the citizens of Greenville, GUC is not part of the city government but rather operates under a separate charter issued by the N.C. General Assembly.
Originally named the Greenville Water and Light Commission, Greenville Utilities Commission has been powering its local community since 1905. Nearly 500 employees, in a variety of work fields, safely provide electric, gas, water, and wastewater utility solutions. Those services are the building blocks for growth to the Greenville region.
GUC is governed by an eight-member Board of Commissioners, all of whom are required to be GUC customers. The Board is responsible for approving rates, development plans, and the annual budget as well as setting operation and extension policies. The City Manager serves as a full voting member; five other Board members are nominated by the City Council; and two are nominated by the County Commissioners. All Board members are approved by the Greenville City Council.
To learn more about GUC, go to guc.com.