Greenville Utilities

Since 1905, Greenville Utilities has been an integral part of Greenville and Pitt County, growing and progressing along with our expanding service area. GUC provides electric, water, sewer and natural gas services to the City of Greenville and 75% of Pitt County. We serve a combined total of nearly 150,000 customer connections. Greenville Utilities is owned by the citizens of Greenville but operates under a separate charter issued by the N.C. We are governed by an eight-member Board of Commissioners.

Our E-300 program has promoted energy efficient construction for more than 30 years and is the longest running program of its kind in the nation. More than 50 percent of new homes in our service area utilize the program, which helps increase energy efficiency. Since the program began in 1978, over 12,000 homes and commercial structures have passed the rigorous E-300 standards. Builders, insulators, heating and air conditioning contractors and Pitt Community College instructors participate in the program.

Part of Greenville Utilities' mission is to provide our reliable utility solutions in an environmentally responsible manner. One of the ways we do that is through ensuring a mix of environmentally-friendly sources for our energy. In the past 10 years, we have reduced our use of energy from coal-fired plants by about 50%, down to just 16% of our mix. Roughly 50% of GUC's power now comes from nuclear and renewable sources (wind, solar, and hydro). Our use of power from natural gas (which is a cleaner burning fuel) continues to rise in use, and is currently about 31% of our energy mix.

Since 1977, GUC's Energy Services Office has been a source of helpful reliable energy information. Customers call and visit the office daily for assistance with a variety of energy-related matters-from recommending simple water heater temperature settings to locating air leakage in duct systems. Experienced Energy Services Specialists are available at no charge to help. Greenville Utilities would like you to get the most from your energy dollars by taking advantage of our programs. For further information, just call the Energy Services Office at 252-551-1521.

Environmental stewardship has played a big role at Greenville Utilities for decades. Our commitment to energy efficiency and to the protection of the environment extends to our facilities, to our internal and external policies, and to our business practices. We have modeled conservation for many years, long before the term "going green" became popular. Our Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) has always been at the forefront of our environmental initiatives. These efforts were recently expanded through a new conservation initiative that not only serves the "environmentally responsible" part of our mission statement, but also the part about "providing reliable utility solutions at the lowest reasonable cost."

As buildings have been shut down or used less frequently, building water quality degradation becomes a silent but serious issue. This is a general roadmap for how to flush contaminants from the building and get the plumbing system water quality back to pre-stagnation conditions. Each building is different, and flushing will need to be tailored accordingly. Many homes have maintained service or even increased water use as we stay and work at home and do not need to be flushed. When homes are returned to service after an extended period of discontinued service (e.g., weeks or months), an adult should be present in the home to ensure that the meter works, leaks are minimized, wastewater piping is intact, and the building's plumbing is flushed.

Greenville Utilities operates an electric distribution system serving the City of Greenville and approximately 75% of the rural portion of the County, more than 67,000 connections with 455 square miles of service territory. Purchased power is supplied through 230-kV transmission lines to three point-of-delivery substations. Our electric system currently has 19 distribution substation sites. At each of these distribution substations, transformers reduce voltage to 12.5 kV. GUC's Electrical Engineering team works closely with companies to design and construct the electric temporary service needed quickly once new and expanding companies have an approved site plan.

Greenville Utilities and its Electric Department have produced this guide to provide you with the most complete and current information available to assist in the connection of your new construction project to our Electric Distribution Network.

Underground utilities, including natural gas pipelines, exist everywhere. You are responsible for gas lines from the gas meter to your home or business. If there is a natural gas line on your property, once a year a plumbing or heating contractor should locate and inspect the lines, and make necessary repairs. In addition, it's important to familiarize yourself with any pipeline markers that exist on your property. They may be found near a pipeline Right-of-Way (ROW). The ROW provides sufficient space for pipeline operators to inspect and perform maintenance on the pipeline.

Greenville Utilities supports innovative ways to use and conserve energy sources that protect our environment. Renewable energy resources, such as wind and solar energy, are playing an increasingly important role in meeting the nation's energy needs. Today, there are many renewable technologies that are commercially available to homeowners and businesses that can be safely interconnected to our electrical grid. These resources are important to GUC's balanced approach to meeting our region's growing electrical needs and helping to establish a cleaner energy future.