Garland Power & Light
Home MenuGP&L 100th Anniversary
From the moment Garland Power & Light flipped the switch on April 1, 1923, it has had the Garland community at heart.
So as GP&L marks the first 100 years of its journey, it’s only fitting that all of Garland joins the celebration.
GP&L’s 100th Anniversary Thank You Garland Celebration will take place from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, April 15, at the Winters Park Amphitheater, 1419 Spring Creek Drive. Enjoy live music, food trucks, line work demonstrations, kids’ activities and more! Admission is free.
Garlandites who cannot make the event still benefit every day from having GP&L as the City’s municipally owned electric utility. A portion of GP&L’s revenues is returned to the City’s general fund to support municipal services. The utility reports to the City Council, which has Garland’s best interest in mind with all decisions – and seeks to keep rates stable and competitive.
Service is very reliable, with outage frequency and duration well below national averages. When outages do occur, you benefit from local crews providing immediate response.
GP&L also supports the community through its annual Tree Power Free Tree Giveaway, and its support for Garland performing arts and local economic development. The GP&L EnergySaver Program helps you save money by improving the energy efficiency of your home or business.
GP&L’s involvement in transmission projects beyond Garland include bringing wind power from West Texas and increasing grid capacity into the Houston area. These investments aid local customers by generating revenue to help offset fees that must be paid to cover Garland’s share of costs associated with other transmission projects built to support the state grid.
And as renewable energy became more accessible and affordable, GP&L added wind and solar to its energy portfolio. Since 2018, it has offered the Green Choice plan, which allows customers to select 100% renewable power.
Together, GP&L and Garland have come a long way from the original 300 customers and 117 kilowatts of load supplied in 1923 from its original home on Avenue A. Back then, Garland leaders just wanted to take care of their own when an electric provider refused to negotiate a cost-effective commercial rate to power the pump at the City’s newly constructed water well (Garland Water Utilities celebrated 100 years of service in 2022).
Under local leadership and a headquarters just blocks away from that original power plant, 100 years later, GP&L is still taking care of Garland’s own.