Philly climate activists celebrate a rare win in their battle to reform PGW
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Climate activists are celebrating a rare win in their ongoing battle to push Philadelphia Gas Works to transition away from its century-old mission that provides city residents with fossil fuels.
The proposed settlement, which stems from a ratemaking case before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, reduces the city-owned utility’s original planned rate hikes by about 40%. It would also create a public engagement process to plan for Philadelphia’s long-term climate goal of zeroing out its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
“So I’m here to celebrate … because PGW needs to be on the right side of history,” said state Rep. Chris Rabb, speaking at a press conference with environmental groups Wednesday in front of City Hall. “I believe it will be, and it’s because of all of you coming together to make it happen. And I believe that PGW and its leadership can and will do the right thing. And we just have to keep them accountable, just like you all keep us as elected officials accountable.”
Rabb got a laugh from the gathering of activists when he referred to PGW as “Philadelphia Geothermal Works.” The groups have been pushing PGW to adopt carbon-free technologies like networked geothermal.
“It’s in PGW’s best interest to diversify its operations and not just rely on fracked gas, because folks, there’s no such thing as ‘natural’ gas,” Rabb said. “That’s like saying clean coal, people. You can’t do it. It’s fracked gas. That is not the future, that’s the past.”
While the city has made some progress in cutting its carbon emissions, the plan for its fossil fuel company is unclear. It’s also unclear how PGW will act on any future public testimony about climate impacts. While the settlement agreement requires two public hearings, it does not require the utility to act on the results, only that it “may incorporate feedback … into its low carbon pathways evaluations and considerations as practical and as determined by PGW.”
“So time will tell how PGW responds, which is why we want to celebrate,” Rabb told WHYY News. “This settlement, this proposal, is why we want to publicly thank PGW for moving in the right direction and to hold PGW to account just like folks hold elected officials to account. It’s a public utility. It’s owned by the people. We celebrate each small victory because success is going to take a long time, and we’re an old, big city with an old infrastructure, and nothing is going to happen overnight, but in this moment we have to take the win.”