Council to hold hearings on PGW - at same time as state

Having snubbed Mayor Nutter's proposal to sell the Philadelphia Gas Works, City Council will hold its own hearings on the city-owned facilities Nov. 13 and 14.

The second day of those hearings will overlap with a hearing on PGW by the state Public Utility Commission, which has asked Council President Darrell L. Clarke to appear.

Jane Roh, spokeswoman for Clarke, said the conflict was a coincidence.

"Our calendar is very tight," she said. "We were looking for the earliest dates we could find."

Because of the overlap, Roh said, it is doubtful Clarke will appear before the PUC. A source close to him said Clarke saw the PUC's involvement in PGW's future as intrusive.

The PUC, which has favored the sale of PGW, announced last week that it wanted to hear PGW's plan for its rates, aging infrastructure, and low-income programs, which cost city gas customers $183 a year, three times the statewide average.

PUC spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher said she was surprised by the timing of the scheduled Council hearings.

"The commission finds it interesting that three days after being called to appear before the PUC to discuss the future of PGW, City Council decides to schedule a hearing on 'Philadelphia's Energy Future' for the exact same time," she said. "While an important topic, we are disappointed that City Council has chosen to overlap our previously scheduled hearing. We had hoped City Council and others would be willing to join us to discuss how we move forward to ensure safe, reliable natural gas service at reasonable rates for city residents."

Both the PUC's and Council's hearings come in response to Clarke's announcement last week that Council would not consider Nutter's proposal to sell PGW to UIL Holdings Corp., a Connecticut utility operator, for $1.86 billion.

"City Council has determined that the Nutter administration's proposal to sell PGW is too narrowly focused and severely limits opportunities to explore alternative avenues that could be more beneficial to the city in the long term," Clarke said in a statement. "Council believes that with greater public input and participation, a better future for PGW and the City of Philadelphia is possible."