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Recognizing and honoring Janet Parrish from the Philadelphia Gas Commission on the occasion of her retirement for her decades of service to the citizens and City of Philadelphia.
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WHEREAS, Janet Parrish, valedictorian of her high school class and graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Law, was licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1976; and
WHEREAS, Janet began her legal career as an attorney for legal services programs in Cincinnati and Philadelphia, first representing tenants and homeowners in housing matters, then representing individual utility customers and advocacy groups in utility rate and rulemaking proceedings before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission and the Philadelphia Gas Commission (“Gas Commission”); and
WHEREAS, By law, the Gas Commission is responsible for oversight of the management and operation of the City-owned Philadelphia Gas Works (“PGW”) by the City’s contractor, the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation; and
WHEREAS, In 1986, Janet became Executive Director of the Utility Emergency Services Fund of Philadelphia, responsible for the agency’s fundraising, public awareness and legislative advocacy initiatives, primarily at the state and federal levels; and
WHEREAS, During that time, as a leader in various national and statewide low-income energy advocacy organizations, Janet worked closely with Philadelphia utilities to develop and evaluate a pilot payment program, which was the precursor to the well-established income-based affordable payment plans of today; and
WHEREAS, From 1990 to 1992, Janet consulted with Philadelphia utilities, primarily the Philadelphia Electric Company, on the design, implementation and evaluation of customer assistance programs for low-income ratepayers. During the same period, she did legal research and writing for a national resource center for battered women charged with crimes, did grant writing and proposal development for several nonprofits, and served as the Issues Director for Lynn Yeakel’s 1992 campaign for United States Senate; and
WHEREAS, Janet began working as a Hearing Examiner for the Gas Commission in 1993, on a consulting basis, before joining the full-time staff in 1995, becoming responsible for adjudicating PGW rates, tariff changes and customer complaints. In 2001, she returned to consulting, doing labor arbitration and strategic planning and communication in addition to her work for the Gas Commission; and
WHEREAS, Janet returned to the Gas Commission in 2003 to serve as its Executive Director, the position she will retire from on January 1, 2017. Her responsibilities have included presiding over Gas Commission hearings, analyzing PGW’s budgets, working on gas purchase contracts and other matters requiring City approval, ensuring that a thorough record exists for the benefit of the Commissioners’ decision making process, and representing the Gas Commission in its interactions with the administration, City Council, PGW and other organizations, among many other duties, large and small; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does hereby recognize and honor Janet Parrish from the Philadelphia Gas Commission on the occasion of her retirement for her decades of service to the citizens and City of Philadelphia.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Janet Parrish, evidencing the sincere admiration and respect of this legislative body.
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