EXHIBIT 23


                              INDEPENDENT AUDITORS'
                         CONSENT OF ERNST AND YOUNG LLP







                      Consent of Independent Auditors

We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Annual Report (Form 10-K)
of Graybar Electric Company, Inc. of our report dated February 21, 2003,
included in the 2002 Annual Report to Shareholders of Graybar Electric Company,
Inc.

Our audits also included the financial statement schedule of Graybar Electric
Company, Inc. listed in Item 14(a). This schedule is the responsibility of
the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the
financial statement schedule based on our audits. In our opinion, the financial
statement schedule referred to above, when considered in relation to the basic
financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material
respects the information set forth therein.


                                                       /s/ Ernst & Young LLP

St. Louis, Missouri
February 21, 2003