Joins More than a Dozen Organizations Fighting Company’s Unfair Business Practices
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – The Gulf Coast Builders Exchange (GCBX), which represents a broad cross section of the building industry in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte Counties, today announced that they have endorsed the MEP Coalition for Fair Competition. The coalition recently organized to oppose Florida Power & Light’s (FPL) entrance into the home services market including air conditioning, heating, plumbing and electrical services.
The GCBX joins more than a dozen organizations representing hundreds of companies that have endorsed the campaign. Those organizations consist of the Florida Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Contractors Association and all of its eight regional associations, the Sarasota County Plumbing, Heating and Cooling Contractors and two national associations including the Virginia-based Air Conditioning Contractors of America and the Minnesota-based Nexstar Network.
FPL entered the home services market using a subsidiary called FPL Energy Services. Jupiter-Tequesta Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Heating is now promoting themselves as an FPL Energy Services Company. In addition, their website features a photo of a Jupiter-Tequesta co-branded truck and FPL Energy Services Home Solutions branded truck. The company claims to now serve 30,000 customers from Lucie to Broward County.
“It’s clearly unfair to have a ratepayer funded monopoly using its public assets for private gain,” said Mary Dougherty, Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange. “If they are allowed to continue these practices unchecked, it will have a devastating impact on small businesses. It will also set an awful precedent for their continued expansion into the home services industry.”
About the Gulf Coast Builders Exchange
The Gulf Coast Builders Exchange (GCBX), represents a broad cross section of the building industry, including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and others from affiliated industries. GCBX’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the building industry are conducted in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte Counties. Wholly owned by the membership, the Builders Exchange is a not-for-profit corporation operating as a trade organization under the guidance of a volunteer board of directors as representatives of the industry.
