Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) is the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
' largest municipally owned
natural gas utility. Construction was completed by engineer Samuel V. Merrick on January 22, 1838, and operations continued from the 1800s to the present day.
History
Less than a year after the passage of "An Ordinance For the Construction and Management of The Philadelphia Gas Works" by the Select and Common Councils of Philadelphia on March 21, 1835, the Philadelphia Gas Works began providing gas service to the City of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
when the city's first 46 gas lights were turned on along Second Street, between Vine and
South Streets on February 10, 1836. Construction of the Philadelphia Gas Works was subsequently completed by engineer
Samuel V. Merrick on January 22, 1838.
In 1841, PGW came under city ownership. Half a century later, the
UGI Corporation (then
United Gas Improvement Company) was contracted by the city in 1897 to operate and manage PGW.
By the 1940s, PGW was serving some 500,000 customers in Philadelphia, providing 99% of the gas distributed within the city limits.
[Castaneda 1993, pg. 105] At this time, the gas provided was primarily
carbureted water gas.
In 1947, the City of Philadelphia stated that it valued PGW at more than .
[Castaneda 1993, pg. 107]
Similar contracts to the one implemented with UGI in 1897 continued to be approved by city leaders until December 1972, at which time Mayor
Frank Rizzo and the Philadelphia City Council contracted with the nonprofit
Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation (PFMC) to operate and manage PGW, beginning on January 1, 1973.
The seven-member board of directors of the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation is appointed by the mayor. Its charge, as set forth in a management agreement between the City and the PFMC, makes the PFMC responsible for all operations of PGW through an executive management team, which includes a chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and chief financial officer.
In 2014, the City of Philadelphia attempted to sell PGW to
UIL Holdings Corporation for , pending approval from the
Philadelphia City Council
The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...
,
which was ultimately declined.
In 2021, Philadelphia Gas Works executives agreed to begin exploring ways to reduce the utility's
carbon footprint
A carbon footprint (or greenhouse gas footprint) is a calculated value or index that makes it possible to compare the total amount of greenhouse gases that an activity, product, company or country Greenhouse gas emissions, adds to the atmospher ...
in furtherance of city objectives to reach net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050 in an effort to help fight
climate change
Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
.
In 2022, state utility regulators approved gas main replacement plans by the Philadelphia Gas Works to upgrade more than 1,000 miles of pipes that had been installed prior to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Awards
The
American Public Gas Association has awarded PGW its 2010 Marketing and Sales Award.
In 2009, PGW had an advertising campaign showing customers and the public about the value of
natural gas
Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
.
Notes
References
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External links
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Buildings and structures in Philadelphia
Historic American Engineering Record in Philadelphia
Natural gas companies of the United States
Public utilities of the United States
1836 establishments in Pennsylvania