Title
Calling for the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold hearings on the economic opportunities available to the Philadelphia Gas Works resulting from the Marcellus Shale find and other developments in the natural gas industry.
Body
WHEREAS, The Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) was established in 1836 and is owned by the citizens of Philadelphia, managed and operated by the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation (a nonprofit corporation with members appointed by the Mayor), and regulated by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission; and
WHEREAS, PGW consists of a network of approximately 6,000 miles of gas mains with storage and distribution facilities located around the City, all owned by the City, but at times operated by others under contract; and
WHEREAS, PGW, with annual revenues close to $1 billion, is the largest municipally-owned gas utility in the nation with nearly 500,000 residential customers and 19,000 commercial and industrial customers and with the nation's largest municipally-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility; and
WHEREAS, Under The Philadelphia Home Rule Charter, the Department of Public Property is responsible for operating the Gas Works when it is not being operated under a contract; and
WHEREAS, In the current economic environment in the natural gas industry, PGW is a municipal asset that, if fully utilized, could generate substantial returns to the City's general fund; and
WHEREAS, The municipally-run gas utility in San Antonio, Texas, CPS Energy, with combined natural gas and electric service, returns 14 percent of all utility revenues to the City of San Antonio, and those revenues make up more than 20 percent of San Antonio's annual operating budget. CPS Energy, which serves over 700,000 electricity customers and more than 322,000 natural gas customers, is an example of the market performance PGW can achieve to the benefit of its customers, the City and other stake...
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