Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future this week announced that it and 16 other parties had reached a settlement with Pittsburgh-based Duquesne Light Company that will, for the first time in this region, provide $6 million over four years for renewable energy development and conservation programs.

This agreement comes after PennFuture and the other parties filed objections before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to the distribution and transmission rate increases requested by Duquesne Light.

“This agreement finally brings the Pittsburgh area into the renewable energy market, with millions for jobs and development, as well as direct help to customers in cutting their bills,” said John Hanger, president and CEO of PennFuture, and former member of the PUC. “We gained funding for clean, renewable energy and energy conservation. This is money that will be directly invested in the Pittsburgh territory and help cut customer’s electricity usage and bills.

“In an energy world in turmoil, where oil, gasoline, natural gas and even coal prices have increased by 100 percent to 400 percent in the last five years, Duquesne’s electricity prices are actually $11 less than they were in 1991,” continued Hanger. “In 1991, the average residential customer paid $85.65 or the equivalent of $128 in today’s dollars. After the distribution rate increase granted in this case goes into effect in January 2007, the average residential bill will be $74.23 — 42 percent less in inflation-adjusted dollars than the bill was in 1991.

“The distribution system rate increase granted to Duquesne in this settlement was necessary to build and expand the system to deliver electricity to customers,” continued Hanger. “And the new investments PennFuture insisted on will help to insulate customers from coal, natural gas and oil price spikes by providing clean energy, made from the sun and wind and other free fuel sources, and will also allow customers to invest in conservation technologies to cut their bills.”

Adding renewable energy to Duquesne’s energy supply and boosting energy conservation will improve reliability and security by relying on local electricity sources and will help cut pollution that threatens the region’s public health and economy. This agreement will also provide local jobs and investment.

Pittsburgh is currently the only major electricity service territory in the state without a sustainable development fund to invest in clean energy. The Pittsburgh funding will be administered by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority.

The Duquesne Light settlement is the latest agreement PennFuture has negotiated for renewable energy and efficiency investments in Pennsylvania. Through PennFuture’s series of legal cases and the organization’s advocacy within state government, Pennsylvania has increased investments and incentives for renewable energy by $188 million.

A number of local elected officials supported PennFuture’s request for money to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Duquesne Light settlement, including Allegheny County Council President Richard Fitzgerald, Allegheny County Council Members Jim Burn, Joan Cleary and William Robinson and Pittsburgh City Council Member William Peduto.

9/15/2006