Philadelphia Gas Works Proposes Largest Natural Gas Energy Conservation Plan

Philadelphia Gas Works this week announced it will file Pennsylvania’s largest natural gas energy conservation plan with the Public Utility Commission. The proposal, if approved by the PUC, will launch a portfolio of seven programs to help 85,000 PGW residential and business customers become more energy efficient.

 

The proposed five-year, $54 million portfolio will generate savings of $104 million over the life of the program and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including 1.25 million tons of carbon dioxide. It will also expand support for PGW’s low-income customers, reduce the subsidy that other customers pay and save about 1,400 Billion British Thermal Units of natural gas. Combined, these programs will provide the environmental equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off Philadelphia’s streets.

 

PGW estimates that its average residential customer would pay about $5.64 a year for five years to support the program. By the sixth year, all customers will see savings from PGW’s reduced cost as the investment in the program begins to yield benefits which will continue to grow through the normal life of the measures, including insulation, efficient heaters and water heaters. Customers who received such treatment will realize substantially greater savings at an earlier date.

 

The proposal is also expected to create as many as 1,000 new jobs and new employment opportunities from work on the programs and from increased local spending.

 

“In these volatile economic times, and with the prospect of natural gas prices rising over the next five years, we understand that our customers want to find ways to conserve, save and help the environment,” said Thomas E. Knudsen, president and CEO of PGW. “This filing is not just the largest energy conservation plan filed to date in Pennsylvania; it is a way for customers to invest in their future in order to save for years to come.”

 

The $54 million cost includes the operational expenses associated with the seven programs. The initiative could be funded through any one, or a combination, of sources including federal stimulus funds directed to PGW from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania or the City of Philadelphia or from the customer. Use of such external funding would reduce customer costs.

 

More details are available online.