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2002-2006

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2007

2006

2005

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2003

2002

 

GEUS’ Fuel Cost to Decrease

(July 27, 2007-Greenville, Texas) GEUS announced today that the utility’s Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC\PCRF) will be lowered to 3.5 cents\kWh beginning with all commercial and residential bills effective August 1st. This is down from the current charge of 4.5 cents. The FAC\PCRF is a pass-through cost based on what GEUS pays to generate or purchase power.

General Manager David McCalla credits the decrease in fuel cost coming from a more mild summer than usual and declining natural gas prices. “These two factors have resulted in lower wholesale power prices” McCalla added.

This decrease in fuel cost will calculate to about a $10 savings based on usage of 1000kWh.

GEUS has the option of providing electricity through the Gibbons Creek coal fired plant near Bryan TX, the local natural gas fired power plant or purchasing power on the open market. GEUS makes the decision on a daily basis on which option would provide the best rate for the citizens of Greenville.


GEUS Summer Rates to Begin

(May 24, 2007-Greenville, Texas) GEUS takes this opportunity to announce that June marks the beginning of this year’s summer residential electric billing season. Many Texas utilities, including GEUS, have a discounted winter rate during the non-summer months.

Local citizens are fortunate to receive the majority of their power from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant near Bryan, TX. Access to coal-fired generation allows GEUS to hold down its pass-through fuel adjustment charge which is currently at 4.5 cents\kWh.

This makes Greenville resident’s electric costs substantially lower than their neighboring cities. The Public Utility Commission’s website www.powertochoose.org lists neighboring community’s rates varying between 10.5 cents to 14.7 cents\kWh. On average, GEUS’ residential service was 10.1 cents in April or 4%-32% cheaper than surrounding communities.

“GEUS’ access to coal-fired generation should keep Greenville’s electric rates competitive for many years”, said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager.

Record System Reliability

(May 18, 2007-Greenville, Texas) Many that grew up in this area remember the days when any little storm would knock out power to many homes and businesses in Greenville. This was one of the main concerns in 1988 when the community voted to turn the electric utility over to an autonomous board of Greenville citizens. Their goal was to get rates down, reliability up and stabilize the Utility’s poor financial condition. Rates quickly dropped and now 19 years later the local debt is almost gone. What about the reliability of the system? That too has steadily improved.

GEUS began tracking customer’s outage time back in 1993. At that time, the average customer could expect their power to be off a total of 2 ½ hours during the year. This was actually an improvement from 1988, but reliability records were not kept at that time.

These numbers have steadily improved with the exception of 2000 when the ice storm inflated the outage time. GEUS set a new record for reliable service in 2006, when the average GEUS customer’s power was only out a total of 25 minutes during the whole year.

GEUS recognizes that their customers have come to expect good reliability in their electric system and continuing steps are being taken to assure that that this type of reliable service will continue.


Raw Water Payment Approved

(April 16, 2007-Greenville, Texas) The GEUS Board voted unanimously last Thursday to pay the City of Greenville for the 1998 raw water usage for which invoicing and payment was inadvertently missed. The $64,084 payment will be drawn from reserve funds.

Virus Alert

(April 13, 2007 - Greenville, Texas) There is a virus called Nuwar@MM!zip that has been spreading quickly on the Internet. This virus has a password-protected .zip or compressed file with an executable within. The virus is mutating so quickly that it can slip past the virus definitions the Anti-Virus companies have created to block it. Anti-Virus companies are producing definitions as fast as they can, but there is always a period between when the virus mutates and when the definition can be generated where your system is vulnerable -- even if you have the most up-to-date virus protection available.

For this reason, the best anti-virus solution is a multi-level approach, including having updated virus protection, and using good common sense precaution when receiving files, whether in email attachments, file downloads, or diskettes. In this particular case, the virus is in a compressed file with an extension of .zip. In addition, .zip files, which are used to try and avoid detection by scanning software, you should always be cautious when opening attachments, and avoid opening any attachment that ends in .exe, .vbs, .bat, .pif , .com and .scr, since these are the file types that are commonly used to spread viruses and worms.

GEUS Scholarship available to Greenville students

High school seniors in the GEUS service area are eligible to apply for a $500 education scholarship from GEUS. Scholarship applicants must have plans to attend an institution of higher learning after high school graduation.

To apply for the scholarship, students must
1. live in or attend a school/home school in the GEUS service area
2. submit an essay of 500 words or less on the topic of electricity produced by natural resources (green power).
3. submit a cover page with name, address, phone number, and the high school attended. This information must not appear on any other page(s).

The scholarship recipient will be selected by a panel of GEUS employees who will serve as judges. Essays will be judged on content, creativity, and accuracy.

Send applications to:
Scholarship
GEUS Service Center
6000 Joe Ramsey Blvd.
Greenville, TX 75402

The deadline for submission of scholarship applications is April 27, 2007.

 

GEUS’ Fuel Cost to Rise

(February 9, 2007-Greenville, Texas) GEUS announced today that the utility’s Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC\PCRF) will rise to 4.5 cents\kWh beginning with all commercial and residential bills going out in March. This is up from the current charge of 2.5 cents. The FAC\PCRF is a pass-through cost based on what GEUS pays to generate or purchase power.

The GEUS Board lowered the charge in October 2006 from 4.7 cents.

Greenville’s municipally-owned utility has several options as they make generation decisions on a daily basis. GEUS receives the majority of its power from Greenville’s share of the low cost coal-fired Gibbons Creek Plant near Bryan, TX. When Greenville’s demand for power exceeds this plant’s capacity, GEUS has the option of either running the local natural gas-fired plant or buying power on the open market. During natural gas curtailments, the local plant has the added option of burning #2 Fuel Oil or as it is more commonly referred to-diesel.

“GEUS is in an enviable position as rates have risen across the state since electric deregulation began five years ago”, said GEUS General Manager, David McCalla. “Our rates are very competitive”, McCalla added.

The Public Utility Commission of Texas’ website powertochoose.org currently shows other Hunt County communities with various residential electrical options varying from 10.3 to 16 cents\kWh. GEUS’ residential average this past month was 7.5 cents\kWh.

GEUS Winter Rates to Begin November 1

(November 1, 2006-Greenville, Texas)  GEUS takes this opportunity to remind residents of Greenville that lower winter electric rates begin each November and extend through May. GEUS’ winter rates are structured so that average costs decline as more electricity is used during a month.

GEUS’ cost to produce electricity is lower in the winter as the low-cost coal-fired Gibbons Creek Plant provides most of Greenville’s needs making GEUS less dependent upon natural-gas fired energy.

“Because of recent higher natural gas rates, GEUS’ electricity has become a very competitive option for providing winter home heating”, said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager.

Harting Elected TMPA President

(October 31, 2006-Greenville, Texas) The Texas Municipal Power Agency (TMPA) Board of Directors recently elected Sue Ann Harting as Board President. This is Harting’s third time to serve on the agency that provides electrical power to the citizens of Greenville, Garland, Denton and Bryan.

Harting has been very active in the Greenville community before and after retiring as General Manager of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Greenville upon its sale in 1989. A true advocate for Greenville citizens and businesses, Harting has provided leadership and support to many local organizations over the years.

The one-time Greenville Mayor is currently serving as Chairman of GEUS’ Board of Directors in addition to her new responsibilities with TMPA.

 

GEUS to Lower Fuel Costs to All Consumers

(September 29, 2006-Greenville, Texas) The GEUS Board of Trustees has approved a measure to escalate the repayment of a fuel charge over-collection.

A couple of key factors contributed to the over-collection. Natural gas prices fell during the summer causing GEUS’ cost to be less than projected. GEUS also received record amounts of power from its share of the Gibbons Creek coal-fired generation plant meaning GEUS was less dependent upon more expensive natural gas generation.

“Customarily, GEUS would correct under or over-collections during the next twelve months”, said David McCalla, GEUS General Manager. “In this particular case, the Board agreed to a schedule that will return funds to consumers more quickly”, McCalla added.

GEUS’ Fuel Adjustment Charge\Power Cost Recovery Factor (FAC\PCRF) was lowered from 4.7 cents\kWh to 2.5 cents for the remainder of 2006.

The FAC\PCRF is strictly a pass-through cost based on what GEUS pays to generate or purchase power and is reviewed monthly.

This lower FAC\PCRF will save the average GEUS residential consumer $24.69\month or a 23% decrease in the average cost of electricity.

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GEUS Offers Summer Assistance to Low-Income Customers

(July 28, 2006 -Greenville, Texas)- GEUS announced today that low-income customers may be eligible to delay part, or all, of the electric portion of their Summer utility bills until the Fall.

After registering with the utility, medical emergency and elderly low-income customers will be allowed to delay payment until October 1st when they will be required to pay 25% of their balance and sign a payment plan on the remaining balance.

Low-income customers less than 65 years of age will be required to pay 25% of their electric balance now and enter a payment plan for the rest.

“We would certainly encourage customers who qualify for this plan to pay as much as they can over the next 60 days to avoid large balances in the Fall”, said GEUS General Manager David McCalla.

Other Greenville utility services will need to be paid as usual.

Customers seeking assistance should call 903-457-2800.


GEUS General Manager To Retire

(February 9, 2006) - Greenville, Texas - GEUS announced today that General Manager Tom Darte will be retiring effective March 1, 2006. The GEUS Board has chosen David McCalla to replace him. Darte became General Manager back in 1988 as the community-owned utility was in the process of transferring governance from the City Council over to the newly-formed GEUS Board. Under Darte’s management, rates and debt fell dramatically while reliability increased throughout the system. “The goals set for myself and the utility have been met”, said Darte. “I have complete confidence in David McCalla’s ability to lead GEUS to the next level”, Darte added.

McCalla has been with GEUS since 1988 and was promoted to Assistant General Manager in 1998. McCalla was instrumental early on in increasing the electric system’s reliability. His most recent focus has been on the construction and eventual operation of the cable & Internet system.

“Tom Darte is to be commended for his many years of service to the Greenville community”, said GEUS Board Chairman, Sue Ann Harting. “The impact of his leadership will be seen for many years”, said Harting.

GEUS Sets New System Peak

August 23, 2005-Greenville, Texas - Greenville’s 114 year old municipally-owned electric utility reached an all-time system high peak of 107 megawatts around 4 PM yesterday afternoon. This eclipsed GEUS’ old peak of 106 megawatts which was reached in August of 2003. GEUS has the capacity to generate 133 megawatts of power from TMPA’s coal-fired generation plant and the natural gas-fired plant located in north Greenville. The north Greenville plant is a peaking plant which is brought on line when Greenville’s needs become greater than TMPA’s coal-fired plant can provide or when other systems in Texas need power. The north Greenville plant has been running more than normal over the past several months providing power for other parts of Texas. Revenue from these off-system sales is used to lower the cost of electricity for the citizens of Greenville.

There is a chance that GEUS’ peak may climb even higher today. “More load is put on the system as temperatures climb in attics”, said Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. “Continuously hot days don’t allow the heat to dissipate in attics causing air conditioning units to struggle to keep up”, Darte added.

Greenville’s long history of providing municipal-electric service to its citizens goes back to 1891 when Greenville established the first municipally-owned electric system in Texas. At that time the system was producing about a half a megawatt of power which provided power to about a 1000 homes and 40 street lights. Houses required much less power before air conditioning systems and modern appliances were available to the public. Power was only generated from dark till 10:00 PM with a fee being charged to fire up the plant during the day until 1909.

GEUS Doubles Internet Speed

June 1, 2005-Greenville, Texas - As reported last month in the Herald Banner, the GEUS Board recently approved the purchase of increased bandwidth for the GEUS Internet System. GEUS announces today that the maximum download speed shall be increased for all GEUS Internet customers. Commercial Internet speeds will be doubled, as will the residential speed, bringing it to 6 mbps or 6000 kbps by the end of June.

Greenville homes and businesses were crawling through the web only five short years ago when they voted to amend the City Charter. This amendment allowed GEUS to build a high speed Internet and cable TV system. Sign ups have exceeded expectations over the past four years with over 4,500 cable and Internet customers having signed up for services.

“GEUS often gets credit for bringing high speed Internet to Greenville, but truly the credit should go to the forward thinking citizens that refused to allow the information superhighway to go around our town”, said David McCalla, GEUS Assistant General Manager.

2005 scholarship winner

GEUS Scholarship Awarded

June 1, 2005 - GEUS officials announced the recipient of the annual GEUS scholarship.

Breanna Smith, a 2005 graduate of Greenville High School, received $500 toward her college education. Breanna plans to study Wildlife Management at Texas A & M University-Commerce beginning this fall.

Each year the scholarship is awarded to a high school senior within the GEUS service area. Scholarship applicants must have plans to attend an institution of higher learning after high school graduation.

GEUS Summer Rates To Begin

May 26, 2005-Greenville, Texas - GEUS takes this opportunity to announce that June marks the beginning of this year’s summer residential electric billing season. Many Texas utilities, including GEUS, have a discounted winter rate during the non-summer months.

Local citizens are fortunate to receive the majority of their power from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Generation Plant near Bryan, TX. Access to coal-fired generation allows GEUS to hold down its pass-through fuel adjustment charge which is currently at 3.6 cents\kWh. In comparison, the Public Utility Commission recently allowed TXU to increase their fuel charge to 6.29 cents\kWh.

This makes Greenville resident’s electric costs substantially lower than their neighboring cities being supplied by TXU. On average, GEUS residential service is 21.7% below TXU’s rates when expressed on an average annual basis.

“This is the greatest price advantage GEUS has ever had as compared to TXU”, said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager. “21.7% less or $25.00\month on a 1,000 kWh is a dramatic savings”, Dickey added.

GEUS Makes adjustment to rates

January 27, 2005 - GEUS' annual rate review is complete and some rate adjustments have been made causing electric to go down, cable to go up and Internet to remain the same. All GEUS electric customers will see a $.55 decrease monthly as the residential customer charge is adjusted down to $4.95 and commercial customer charges down to $12.45. It is projected that GEUS will collect about $76,000 less each year through this adjustment.

Each GEUS cable tier package will increase by $2/month due to increased programming costs from networks. Programming costs account for more than 50% of GEUS’ cost to provide cable TV. The past year’s increases were greater than $50,000 and those costs are expected to rise more than $90,000 in the coming year. “Increased programming costs seem to be inevitable for all cable providers, but GEUS’ acquisition of programming though the National Cable Television Cooperative has kept our rates very competitive”, said David McCalla, GEUS Assistant General Manager.

GEUS has added enhanced features to each cable tier this year by adding things such as local weather on the 8’s and radar on the Weather Channel as well as a programming guide. An additional 7 channels were also added throughout the line up.

GEUS’ high speed Internet pricing will remain the same with the new electric and cable TV pricing going into effect March 1, 2005.

“The success of the cable and Internet system spreads our customer service costs over a greater number of customers, thus allowing us for the past two years to reduce the monthly customer charge paid by each GEUS electric customer,” said Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. “One goal of GEUS entering the cable and Internet business was that all GEUS customers would benefit-even if they didn’t switch to these new services,” Darte added.

Jeremy Stewart named GEUS Scholarship recipient

July 1, 2004 - GEUS has named Jeremy Stewart as the 2004 GEUS Scholarship recipient.The $500 GEUS Scholarship is awarded annually to a senior graduating from a public or private high school in the GEUS service area. To meet the application requirements, this year's scholarship candidates wrote an essay concerning energy conservation. The group of GEUS employees who reviewed the applications awarded the scholarship to Mr. Stewart. For scholarship application information click here.

 

GEUS' Lineup Growing To More Than 260 Channels

(June 22, 2004-Greenville, Texas) GEUS ' channel lineup will grow to over 260 channels before summer's end. The most recent channel additions include three more regional Fox Sports networks and the Fuel network, which features extreme sports.

"We are very excited about the recent addition of three Fox Sports regional channels for the Pacific, Central and Atlantic regions of the United States", said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager. "We expect these channels' popularity to be similar to the very popular Fox Sports Southwest," Dickey added.

Other networks coming in late summer include the NFL Network, Soapnet and Varsity.


GEUS Summer Rates To Begin

(May 21, 2004-Greenville, Texas) GEUS takes this opportunity to announce that June marks the beginning of this year's summer residential billing season. GEUS has a discounted winter rate during the seven months of November through May. Many Texas utilities, including GEUS and TXU, have a higher summer rate.

Record high natural gas prices across the nation will have a definite effect on consumer's electric bills. Much of the nation's electricity is produced with natural gas, especially in the summer. Utilities pass along the cost to produce electricity through their fuel adjustment charges. As the summer heat rises, utilities have to call upon peaking plants to generate enough electricity to fulfill Texas' demand for power. Many of these peaking plants are less efficient and produce electricity at a higher cost.

The majority of GEUS' power comes from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Plant near Bryan, Texas. When Greenville's demand becomes more than Gibbons can provide, GEUS has the option of producing power locally through its natural gas-fired plant in north Greenville or buying power on the open market.

"Record high natural gas prices really have this nation's electrical costs up", said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager. "We encourage consumers to set their thermostats at 78 degrees or higher and use fans as much as possible to minimize the impact on their household's budget", Dickey added.


New on-screen guide

December 19, 2003 - A new, improved on-screen digital interactive Cable TV guide will debut in early January. The new guide has improved functionality and is more user-friendly than the current on-screen guide.

To access a manual for the new on-screen guide click here.

Your GEUS-provided remote control will operate with this new on-screen guide. However, the diagram included in the on-screen manual pictures a different remote. Please ignore the diagram! The buttons referred to in the on-screen guide manual have the same functions as the buttons on your remote (menu, guide, etc.), but they appear in different locations in the manual's diagram.


GEUS announces price changes and 48 new channels

December 19, 2003 - GEUS announced several changes today involving its electric and cable TV system. The most widespread change involves a price decrease for all its electric customers.

Beginning February 1st, residential account's monthly customer charge will go down by $2 and a decrease in commercial charges of $1/month. Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager, attributes the cost reduction to the success of the cable TV & Internet operation and the economic gain through billing cable TV and Internet with electric service. "The addition of 3500 plus cable & Internet customers has lowered our overall cost/bill and we wanted to pass these savings along to all our customers," explained Darte.

Also announced was the addition of 48 new channels to the GEUS Cable TV lineup. There will be a modest price increase to the Economy Plus and Digital tiers. Beginning February 1, Economy Plus customers will see a $2 increase/month while Digital customers will see a $3 monthly increase. All of this increase is due to rising programming costs that GEUS pays the networks.

"Most of the increase comes directly from two major sports networks instituting huge increases in programming costs every year," said David McCalla, GEUS Assistant General Manager. "These two networks have increased the cost of their programming by 94% since GEUS launched cable TV service in 2001, but the two networks are very popular networks on our system," McCalla added.

Some Federal Legislators are not comfortable with these recent programming increases nation-wide and there may be investigation of this issue in the future.

GEUS Economy Tier customers will not see any change in pricing. The Economy Tier will add a new current program guide and official Major's Field weather data to channel 19. The Bravo Network comes to Economy Plus on channel 75, a new network for this level.

GEUS Digital customers will see the addition of an improved programming guide before the first of the year and an additional 17 new channels to go with it. Outdoor Channel, Toon Disney, National Geographic, MTV2, Fox Movie Channel, Trio, Style, Nick Games & Sports, Nick Toons TV, MTV Hits, VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Country and Bloomberg will be added around January 1. Three other channels to be added in late Spring will be SoapNet, Varsity, and The Football Network. The Football Network features football games and coverage 24/7 during each month of the year.

GEUS Digital customers will soon have access to 26 more pay-per-view channels. In addition to more movie options, the upgrade includes 8 special channels for Greenville's NASCAR fans. Fans will be able to switch channels throughout NASCAR races which allows them to choose between multiple in-car camera shots.

GEUS' Spanish Language Package, Diversion Greenville, will expand with the addition of Canal Sur, infinito, Latin TV, TBN Enlace and Video Rola. There will be no price change for this premium service.

"We contribute much of the success of our cable TV operation to a commitment we made to the citizens to bring them more channels for less money than is being charged by our competitors," said Darte. "Today's announcement reinforces that commitment," Darte added.


GEUS, TXU Electric Rates Compared

September 4, 2003 - The table below shows a comparison of projected residential electric rates for GEUS and TXU for the next six month period.

 
1000 kWh
  
GEUS
$93
7.9% Less than TXU
TXU
$101
 

TXU figures come from the Public Utility Commission as published in a Dallas Morning News article dated August 22, 2003.GEUS' figures are based on an average fuel adjustment factor of 3.35 cents\kWh and the current base electric rate, which is not expected to change in the coming year.

Response to Herald Banner Article

September 2, 2003 - GEUS Board Members are appointed by the City Council in accordance with the citizen-approved City Charter. Over the past 15 years, outstanding citizens have been appointed to the Board and the following results have been achieved:

  • TMPA and local debt has been reduced
  • base electric rates have been reduced
  • reliability has greatly improved
  • significant contributions have been made to the City of Greenville as defined by the City Charter

Coal-fired plants such as TMPA's cost more to build, but less to operate resulting in a more stable and competitive fuel mix. GEUS consumers are paying less for electricity through the use of TMPA's coal.


New Budget Ready for Board Review

August 29, 2003 - GEUS announced today that the second draft of the 2003-2004 budget has been completed and will be reviewed by the GEUS Board at 6 p.m.on Thursday, September 4, 2003 at the GEUS Service Center.

The proposed balanced budget includes expected electric, cable TV and Internet Operation & Maintenance expenses of $41.9 million. This is up from the $36.1 million budgeted expenses of 2002-2003. Increases in the upcoming budget are primarily due to record high natural gas prices across the nation.

The proposed budget calls for no changes in base electric rates and GEUS customers are expected to pay 10% less in 2004 than customers in surrounding communities receiving power from TXU.

"We are very pleased with the success of the cable TV and Internet project", said Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. "Revenues from the two year old cable TV and Internet operation is expected to cover 96% of its operations and maintenance expense for 2003-2004, which is ahead of our original business plan by about a year," Darte added.


GEUS Sets New System Peak

August 7, 2003 - Greenville's 112 year old municipally-owned electric utility reached an all-time system high peak of 106 megawatts around 4 PM yesterday afternoon. This eclipsed GEUS' old peak of 105 megawatts which was reached in August of 2000. GEUS has the capacity to generate 133 megawatts of power from TMPA's coal-fired generation plant and the natural gas-fired plant located in north Greenville. This excess capacity is often sold on the open market to other utilities with revenues from these off-system sales being used to help GEUS hold down electric rates in Greenville.

Greenville's long history of providing municipal-electric service to its citizens goes back to 1891 when Greenville established the first municipally-owned electric system in Texas. At that time the system was producing about a half a megawatt of power which provided power to about a 1000 homes and 40 street lights. Houses required much less power before air conditioning systems and modern appliances were available to the public. Power was only generated from dark till 10:00 PM with a fee being charged to fire up the plant during the day until 1909.

GEUS Providing Hospital Internet

August 6, 2003 - The Hunt Memorial Hospital District and GEUS announced today that they have recently entered an agreement for GEUS to provide Internet to the Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville. Presbyterian began searching for a new Internet provider when their present provider announced they would cease operations in March.

Presbyterian is now experiencing faster Internet speeds than they have in the past. "Our average download speed has increased from 750k to 6 mbps ", reports Robert Stevens, System Analyst of Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville-Commerce. "We have been very pleased with GEUS' Internet service", Stevens added.

Snake Causes Power Outage

June 9, 2003 - Despite GEUS' efforts to keep snakes out of the conducting circuits of their substations, one found his way in and knocked out power to approximately 5400 homes Saturday night. In the summer of 2001, GEUS installed snake guards after a snake climbed a ten foot steel support and came into contact with 69,000 volts of electricity.

The Terrell Road Substation shut down at midnight this past Saturday night when a three foot chicken snake was able to avoid the snake guard and make contact with the high voltage. A large portion of the southern end of Greenville receives its power from this substation. "GEUS was able to remove the snake and restore all power by 12:40 AM", said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager.

The picture on the right shows the snake that caused the 2001 outage. The picture below shows the snake guard installed in the summer of 2001.

Summer Electric Rates to Begin

May 29, 2003 - GEUS announced today that June marks the beginning of this year's summer residential billing season. The GEUS discounted winter rate is in effect for seven months of each year from November through May. Many Texas utilities, including GEUS and TXU, have a higher summer rate.

Record high natural gas prices across the nation will have a definite effect on the consumer's electric bill. Much of the nation's electricity is produced with natural gas, especially in the summer. Utilities pass along the cost of electricity production through fuel adjustment charges. As the summer heat rises, utilities have to call upon peaking plants to generate enough electricity to fulfill Texas' demand for power. Many of these peaking plants are less efficient and produce electricity at a higher cost.

The majority of GEUS' power comes from the coal-fired Gibbons Creek Plant near Bryan, Texas. When Greenville's demand becomes more than Gibbons can provide, GEUS has the option of producing power locally through its natural gas-fired plant in north Greenville or buying power on the open market..

Conservation can help keep consumers' summer electric costs down by helping to avoid these expensive peaks. "We encourage consumers to set their thermostats at 78 degrees or higher and use fans as much as possible", said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager. "Good air movement makes the skin feel 5 degrees cooler than the actual temperature," Dickey added.

Light Plant Established More Than 60 Years Ago
 (Reprint from 1950 Greenville Evening Banner-Centennial Edition-Frontier Days-Sunday, May 7, 1950 Page 15)

Built Eight Years After Edison Invented Lamp

Greenville, a city founded by hardy pioneers and made up of citizens always ready to take a step when it apparently will lead to a better life for its people, was quick to see the possibilities of the electric lights and just eight years after the invention of the incandescent lamp by Thomas A. Edison, established an electric generating plant. This was more than sixty years ago and over that long period of time Greenville has led the way in the field of municipally owned power plants.

Under the name of the Greenville Water and Electric Light Co. work was started on Nov. 1, 1888 and finished on May 1, 1889. The original plant was located on Wesley Street where the Kimbell-Greenville Gro. Co. is now located. In 1892 the plant was moved to Stonewall Street, just south of Town Branch. The original plant, according to an old stone in the present water pumping plant, was under the following men: J. M. Cook, president; Thomas Howard, vice president; F. B. Nichols, secretary-treasurer; Charles Leddie, chief engineer and T. J. Whitman construction engineer.

Operated at Night Only

This plant consisted of one 50 K.W. direct current generator and was operated at night only. It remained on Stonewall Street until 1909. The old plant was discarded and a new and enlarged plant located on the banks of Sabine River combining the Water and Electric plant. This plant was equipped with two Allis-Chalmers cross compound direct connected steam engine generators and the plant was changed over to alternating current. According to another stone in the plant, Joseph Nichols was Mayor; T. P. Bethel, Alderman No. 1; J. H. Whatley Alderman No. 2. Chas. Duncan and John Stafford were on the citizens committee and John W. Maxey was construction engineer. The electric capacity at this time was about 700 K.W. At about this time or earlier, P. L. Schott became chief engineer and served until his death in 1949. He was succeeded by Sam Holleman who is still serving in that capacity.

In about 1920 the first steam turbine of 500 K.W. was installed and in 1925 another steam turbine of 1250 K.W. and suitable boilers were put in. Prior to the time, there was one strong supporter of the plant. He was M. M. Arnold, who, it has been said, paid bills out of his personal funds so the plant could carry on until he could be repaid. These steam turbines are still in the plant as stand-by service.

In 1933, it was decided to place more modern units in service and two Diesel direct connected to generator were installed. These units were of 700 K.W. and 1000 K.W. and were able to increase the savings for the city through their modern construction. In 1936 another Diesel of 1410 K.W. was installed. The demand still increasing until 1941, another unit of 1690 K.W. was installed, giving the plant a total of 6550 K.W. in electric generators. There are also 3 electric driven water pumps of 1,000, 1250 and 1500 G.P.M.
and one steam pump of 2080 G.P.M.

With the increasing demands for electrical power in Greenville following the end of the war when the industrial growth of the city reached a new high, an additional 2800 horse power, 1900 K.W. unit was installed in 1947 and at this time a new addition to the present building is under construction which will house two more units of approximately 6000 horse power and 2400 K.W. capacity when completed.

It has been the policy of Greenville to charge a very low rate for electric energy, thereby passing a part of the dividends back directly to the customers and the cash earnings each year as dividends directly to the relief of the tax-payers.

In order to arrive at the net worth of the Municipal Plant, to the citizens of Greenville, more than the cash earnings must be considered. There is a direct savings to the taxpayers in the form of free service furnished, that would have to be paid from tax revenues if Greenville did not own its plants. This department gives free electrical service for 1400 street lights, 8 public schools, three fire stations, parks, city hall, city market square, public library and other public buildings. The value of these free services is approximately $26,000 annually and would otherwise be paid from tax monies.

Many other benefits are derived by the citizenship due to the ownerships of the electric and water department. It employs 58 persons in the plant and downtown office who receive salary and wages of more than $133,000 per year, which is spent in local trade channels and also to be considered is the purchase of materials and supplies from local merchants.

It will be remembered, Greenville was a pioneer in the field of rural electrification beginning in 1926, building electric lines into the rural sections until now it owns and operates 100 miles of lines serving approximately 850 farm customers in the immediate territory. It is the policy of the present administration to set aside depreciation on physical wear and tear of electrical and pump machinery and equipment. The accumulation of this fund each year will replace machinery in the future. This depreciation reserve is deposited in a separate account to credit of this department, which cannot be used for purposes other than replacement or betterments.

The cash dividends transferred to the city's general fund last year totaled $130,000, which represents the amount the taxpayers would have had to raise if the city did not own its utilities.

Greenville Herald Banner, Friday, September 3,1993
Opinion/Essay Page

No joke
Electric department deserving of award

For many years the municipally-owned electric utility that has brought power to Greenville has often been the butt of jokes and the target of criticism.

It was the whipping boy when asked why people left Greenville or never moved to town at all. Electric bills are too high-highest in the state, detractors would say. Residents shuddered when a storm or stretch of hot weather came up, knowing the power would go off.

Things have changed in the past few years. Local utility costs are now very competitive with cities of similar size and power outages are minimal. Greenville residents are not facing a 15 percent rate hike as are surrounding communities which buy their power from another utility.

While we would all like to see rates keep going down and never fear a power outage, we know that's not feasible. But the efforts put forth by our electric utility have changed some attitudes and opinions.

Those efforts were punctuated this week when the Greenville Electric Utility System was named the recipient of the Outstanding System Achievement Award from the Texas Public Power Association.

The award was said to recognize the significant improvements in reliability and consumer service. "Greenville is a great example of how a locally owned and managed utility works for the benefit of the community," said Mike Williams, TPPA director.

We must agree with Williams.

The strides made by the utility, the oldest municipally owned in Texas, can be attributed to both the residents who approved making it a separate entity from the city government, and to those who have administered the operation.
GEUS has become a source of pride and a resource for growth over the past few years.

Certainly there are those who still pooh-pooh the system and continue to think of it in negative terms, but progress is being made and more importantly, it's being recognized.

We'd like to add our congratulations to those responsible for a job well done.

***Revised Letter***

Dear GEUS Owner,

General Manager Tom Darte15 Year Anniversary of GEUS

Fifteen years have passed since the citizens of Greenville created an autonomous GEUS board to govern their century-old electric utility. The 4-1 approval vote of the citizens began a new direction for the oldest municipally-owned electric utility in the state. Through the leadership of GEUS Board members, comprised of citizens like you, GEUS has made substantial gains during these years.

Local owners of GEUS can look with pride on some of the major system improvements and cost reductions that have been made since 1988.

  • Lowered average cost\kWh by 20% making Greenville’s rates competitive with the state average
  • Paid down GEUS' local debt from $22.4 million to $9.9 million improving the overall
    financial conditions and raising bond ratings to an excellent level-Debt free by 2018
  • Converted TMPA Generation Plant to coal securing an energy source that is expected to
    be competitive for at least 25 years and debt free in 2018
  • Greatly increased the system’s reliability by investing approximately $26 million
    into local power plant, substation and feeder network
  • Transfer of $33.2 million to the City of Greenville
  • Transfer of $4.7 million for the Board of Development for business development
  • Built the GEUS Service Center to consolidate operations and allow walk in and drive
    thru assistance
  • Achieved numerous system and individual awards on both the state and national level
  • Constructed the first municipally-owned cable TV\Internet operation in Texas

This latest project involves our citizen’s state-of-the-art $8.2 million cable TV and high speed Internet network. With no companies stepping forward to bring high speed Internet to Greenville, the citizens decided to control their own destiny and authorized by charter election GEUS to build Greenville’s own system. The information super highway now comes through Greenville and GEUS’ total local debt still remains very manageable at $9.9 million.

Thank you for allowing us to work for you and provide you with electric, cable TV and Internet services.

Sincerely,
Tom Darte
GEUS General Manager

Dear GEUS Owner,

General Manager Tom Darte15 Year Anniversary of GEUS

Fifteen years have passed since the citizens of Greenville created an autonomous GEUS board to govern their century-old electric utility. The 4-1 approval vote of the citizens began a new direction for the oldest municipally-owned electric utility in the state. Through the leadership of GEUS Board members, comprised of citizens like you, GEUS has made substantial gains during these years.

Local owners of GEUS can look with pride on some of the major system improvements and cost reductions that have been made since 1988.

  • Lowered base rates by 20% making Greenville’s rates competitive with the state average
  • Paid down GEUS’ local debt from $22.4 million to $9.9 million improving the overall financial conditions and raising bond ratings to an excellent level-Debt free by 2018
  • Converted TMPA Generation Plant to coal securing an energy source that is expected to be competitive for at least 25 years and debt free in 2018
  • Greatly increased the system’s reliability by investing approximately $38 million into local power plant, substation and feeder network
  • Transfer of $33.2 million to the City of Greenville
  • Transfer of $4.7 million for the Board of Development for business development
  • Built the GEUS Service Center to consolidate operations and allow walk in and drive thru assistance
  • Employ the same number of electric only employees today as we had in 1988
  • Achieved numerous system and individual awards on both the state and national level
  • Constructed the first municipally-owned cable TV\Internet operation in Texas

This latest project involves our citizen’s state-of-the-art $8.2 million cable TV and high speed Internet network. With no companies stepping forward to bring high speed Internet to Greenville, the citizens decided to control their own destiny and authorized by charter election GEUS to build Greenville’s own system. The information super highway now comes through Greenville and GEUS’ total local debt still remains very manageable at $9.9 million.

Thank you for allowing us to work for you and provide you with electric, cable TV and Internet services.

Sincerely,
Tom Darte
GEUS General Manager

GEUS to begin burning Fuel Oil in its Steam Plant

February 25, 2003 - A state-wide natural gas curtailment for the generation of electricity has caused GEUS to begin burning No. 2 Fuel Oil in its Steam Plant in north Greenville. GEUS began calling on its 230,000 gallons of fuel oil, commonly known as diesel, yesterday when the utility's natural gas allotment was partially curtailed. Since that time a total curtailment has been implemented and a Level 1 Emergency Alert has been issued by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). GEUS receives most of its electricity from its coal-fired plant near Bryan, Texas while supplementing its needs through the local generation plant. Coal is one of the most economical sources of fuel with traditionally very stable pricing.

The natural gas curtailment, which was triggered by the extremely cold Texas weather, sent the market price of natural gas from $6.00\MMBTU to over $28.00\MMBTU. "This natural gas price spike has had a dramatic impact on the market price of electricity in Texas", explained Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. "A megawatt that was selling for $50 last week reached $999 this morning", Darte added.

This marks the second time in the last few years that GEUS has opted to use its fuel oil supply. A curtailment situation in January of 2001 also triggered local fuel oil usage. That curtailment sent the market price to $11.00\MMBTU. "Natural gas remained fairly stable in the late 1990's around the $2.50\MMBTU price", said Darte. "Higher than normal natural gas prices over the last few years has definitely increased the cost of electricity across the state of Texas", added Darte.

Greenville Herald Banner's Progress Edition Report

List of questions submitted by Brad Kellar on 2/6/03 in preparation for the Greenville Herald Banner's Progress Edition.

1) What do you see ahead for your business and your employees in 2003?

GEUS is expecting a very busy year on both the electric and cable TV\Internet sides of the organization. New subdivisions and businesses will mean expansion of both the electrical and hybrid fiber\coaxial systems. GEUS also hopes to continue with better-than-expected cable TV and Internet sign ups during the coming year.

2) Did anything develop in Greenville/Hunt County in 2002 that you think will have a major positive impact on your business?

The arrival of the 21st century has brought new requirements to communities seeking economic growth. Two of those requirements are competitive electrical rates and access to high speed Internet. Two events occurred in 2002 that we feel will have a dramatic impact on the future of the Greenville community. Those events were the announcement of the COBISA project and the completion of the GEUS high speed Internet system.

COBISA's dramatic expansion of the local tax base is expected to help drive economic growth which will in turn allow GEUS to sell more of its excess generation here in Greenville from it's low-cost, coal fed TMPA plant. Economic growth in Greenville would allow more of this low cost energy to be utilized here in our hometown instead of being sold on the open market. GEUS sees some real win-win opportunities for both COBISA and GEUS in the near future and even greater possibilities down the road.

The second event of significance was the completion of the GEUScommunity-wide hybrid fiber\coaxial system which now allows homes and businesses access to the information super highway through true high speed Internet. Greenville leader's requests for these services to potential providers in 1999 fell on deaf ears. With existing businesses considering moving from town because of this, the community had no choice but to take destiny into their own hands and build their own state-of-the-art system. Over 2700 homes and businesses now receive services through this system.

3) Is there anything you would like to see transpire this year that would promote both economic and social progress in Greenville and Hunt County?

GEUS gets requests on a daily basis from rural customers seeking high-speed Internet. GEUS would consider offering these services to the rural areas if a cost-effective method could be found that would allow true high-speed Internet through a reliable means.

GEUS is proud to be a partner in the Greenville Community Network. This network allows the public free access to computers at various Greenville locations. This service assures that all Greenville citizens have Internet access. We truly hope that Greenville's citizens will use this service.

4) Does your company promote volunteer programs among your employees and are there any incentive programs (bonuses, time off, etc) set up for that?

GEUS employees are involved in numerous volunteer programs throughout the year. These include programs like toy & blood drives, various civic organizations, Chamber of Commerce, Drug Free Greenville and others. No bonuses or time off is offered for these activities.

Randy Black named the GEUS Scholarship recipient

July 1, 2002 - GEUS has named Randy Black as their 2002 GEUS Scholarship recipient.

The $500 GEUS Scholarship is awarded annually to a senior graduating from a public or private high school in the GEUS service area. To meet the application requirements, this year's scholarship candidates wrote an essay concerning energy conservation. The group of GEUS employees who reviewed the applications awarded the scholarship to Mr. Black. For scholarship application information click here.

 


 

GEUS removes adult programming

June 27, 2002 - The GEUS Board of Trustees took action tonight at its board meeting to completely remove the four optional adult programming channels from the GEUS lineup. Speaking to a large number of citizens representing both sides of the issue, GEUS General Manager Tom Darte and Highland Terrace Pastor Riley Hamilton outlined an agreement in which Family Net would be added to the GEUS lineup. Family Net is a national Christian television network that allows 20 hours of local origination programming each week. Highland Terrace has plans to broadcast their services plus other events in the community. Under the proposed agreement, Highland Terrace will pay GEUS for the use of this dedicated channel. The agreement also calls for the removal of Playboy, Hot Choice and the two Spice channels. "This is a win-win situation", said Tom Darte. "The new GEUS revenues generated from the Church plus the potential new subscribers from the Greenville Christian community should more than offset the lost adult programming revenue", Darte added. The Board's action of removal of the programming is pending final approval of the agreement by the Highland Terrace congregation which is expected within a couple of weeks.

This closes a chapter in the history of GEUS in which the Utility received a lot of public input from both sides of a very controversial issue. "GEUS has always respected both the citizen's views that the programming was morally wrong and the opposing view that GEUS did not need to be a censor for this community. The Board was able to set the emotions and the politics surrounding the issue aside and make a good sound business decision", said Darte, "GEUS is ready to return our focus to our core business of providing competitive, reliable services to the citizens of Greenville".

Update on TMPA Debt

May 29, 2002 - GEUS announced today a clarification concerning Greenville's share of the Texas Municipal Power Agency's (TMPA) debt. TMPA is a coal-fired electric generation plant near Bryan, Texas that produces electricity for Greenville, Garland, Bryan and Denton. There is $894 million owed on this plant. Greenville's share of this debt is $89.4 million or 10%. The total debt of the plant will be retired in 15 years. A recent longevity study of the TMPA plant revealed that it has a useful life of 30 years remaining. This plant is projected to produce electricity from 2017 to 2032 debt free. Utilities across the nation invest large sums of money in coal-fired plants due to the fact these plants produce low cost electricity. "GEUS is very fortunate to have access to low cost coal-fired generation", said Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. "A manageable capital plan was one of the factors Standard & Poor highlighted when issuing GEUS an A bond rating in 2001", Darte added. Darte was referring to the utility's latest bond ratings. GEUS retained its Standard & Poor A rating with a Stable Outlook. Moody's upgraded GEUS' rating to A2 after reviewing its financial stability. GEUS' expected gross revenue for this fiscal year is $37.5 million.

GEUS Customers to pay less this summer

May 24, 2002 -GEUS takes this opportunity to remind its residential customers that the summer electric rates (June-October) will begin being billed on their June bills. All customers can expect to pay less to cool their homes and businesses this summer. "GEUS customers will be paying $11.00 less for each 1000kWh as compared to last June", said Jimmy Dickey, GEUS Consumer Services Manager. "This represents a 30% savings in the fuel portion of your electric bill", Dickey added. GEUS bills include both a set base rate and a variable pass-through fuel charge. Residential rates, other than fuel, have not changed since a 19% decrease in 1989.

GEUS receives a few calls each year from consumers wondering why GEUS has a different residential base rate during the summer months. Many Texas utilities have a different summer and winter rate. As the Texas heat increases, peaking plants are called upon to produce enough electricity to supply Texas' needs. Many of these plants are less efficient and produce electricity at a higher cost. These higher summer costs are passed along to consumers.

Adult titles removed from GEUS lineup

April 11, 2002 - GEUS announced today that it has completed installation of equipment that removes adult titles from the program guide and eliminates the ability to purchase adult programming from homes in Greenville. GEUS has taken this step in response to some citizens' concern over the adult titles and descriptions. GEUS has now taken every possible step to block unwanted access to adult programming. Households wishing to have access to adult programming will be able to do so by making a one-time contact with GEUS.

GEUS realizes that some citizens find adult programming offensive and has taken unique precautionary actions, from day one, to avoid accidental viewing:
1) GEUS made the conscious decision not to promote or advertise adult programming.
2) The GEUS lineup was designed so that no bleed-through can occur as happens with other systems in Greenville.
3) GEUS equipment also allows each household to block any channel or set up PIN codes to block access.

Electric Rate Reduced Again

March 1, 2002 - Electric consumers in Greenville will soon be seeing another decrease in their cost of electricity. This makes the third decrease in GEUS' fuel adjustment charge (FAC) since December of last year. The three decreases authorized by the GEUS Board represent an 18.9% overall savings for the average Greenville resident when calculated on an annual basis. Beginning in April, the average 1000kWh GEUS customer will see savings of $15\month or $180\year as compared to their last year's bills. Individual savings will vary depending on usage.

The FAC is a pass-through charge representing a utility's fuel cost to generate electricity. GEUS receives a majority of its electricity from coal-fired generation at its Gibbons Creek Plant. The remainder of GEUS' power is produced from natural gas. FACs across the nation began to skyrocket in early 2000 when natural gas increased 4 to 5 times its normal cost. "Coal costs have remained stable over the last several years helping to hold down the cost of electricity in Greenville", said Tom Darte, GEUS General Manager. "The cost of electricity in Greenville is less than it was 14 years ago when the GEUS Board was formed by the vote of the citizens", Darte added.


Car Accidents Interrupt Power Temporarily

February 7, 2002 - Approximately 3900 GEUS customers in the mid-southern a