GRU is asking the Gainesville City Commission to increase customer rates.

GRU claims the rate increase would improve their facilities and help them provide utilities more efficiently.

"To raise rates now would be very unseemly,” Ray Hughes, a Gainesville resident, said.

GRU customers like Ray Hughes of Gainesville may be seeing an increase on their utility bills if the city commission doesn't use revenue from the biomass plant to help lower customer rates.

"I believe that you did very strongly imply if not actually literally promised to reduce rates,” Hughes said.

The biomass plant did end up lowering electric bills by 5-7% in the past year but the city is left with $2.7 million in increased utility tax revenue.

City leaders are considering whether to spend that revenue in other ways including new City of Gainesville hires and joint projects with UF.

On top of that, GRU has asked to raise rates by more than 3% to improve their current facilities and increase employee wages.

"I really don't think that we should be increasing our rates, I really don’t,” David Arreola, Gainesville City Commissioner, said.

Hughes is offering his own ideas for the city to save money.

He says he'd like to see the city stop operating Ironwood, a golf course near the airport.

"So instead of raising rates, I'd like to ask you to consider a couple of areas in which you could generate additional funding."

Commissioner Adrian Hayes Santos says it doesn't look like the commission will want to move forward to increase rates by more than 3%

Staff will be coming back with different options for the commission.

The commission will be discussing this topic again on Thursday.