Why does PGW spend ratepayer money to promote natural gas as 'clean' energy?
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On a recent Sunday at Citizen’s Bank Park, ushers gave Phillies fans a free “sustainable” baseball cap, courtesy of Philadelphia Gas Works.
The city-owned utility’s logo was on the side of the hat, and inside, a tag shaped like a plastic water bottle had a recycling symbol with a message that read, “I was plastic.”
During Eagles’ game-day radio broadcasts, PGW also promotes what it calls “clean” natural gas.
“PGW. Safely delivering clean, natural energy to Philadelphia homes and businesses. Visit pgworks.com for details,” WIP play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese periodically intones during the game.
PGW also advertises natural gas, which is a climate-warming fossil fuel, as “clean,” on billboards, bus shelters and jumbotrons.
“Moving clean energy forward for your business,’’ the utility boasts.
All of these promotions, which cost $4.2 million over a 14-month period ending in November 2024, are paid for by PGW ratepayers, utility records show.
That bothers Shawn Hogan of Fishtown, a sustainability project manager at the Philly architectural firm Re:Vision, who has a PGW hat from last year’s Phillies game promotion. Hogan said she rolls her eyes when the utility’s messages flash across the jumbotron at ballgames.
“I am annoyed that what I pay to PGW to bring gas into my home to cook and heat my home, pays for pretty extravagant marketing campaigns,” Hogan told WHYY News. “The question is: Why is a company that has no competition, why do they have to market at all?”
PGW is conducting marketing campaigns on behalf of natural gas as some cities and states have enacted policies that encourage electrification or ban natural gas hook-ups on new construction. Also, some customers have voluntarily switched from natural gas to electricity, which if that becomes more widespread, could potentially threaten the business model for natural gas companies.
Hogan said she believes PGW’s ads and game giveaways are part of a “greenwashing” campaign, where a company or public entity provides misleading information, intentionally or not, about the environmental benefits of its product or actions that don’t match up with the facts.
“They want to make sure that the public generally does not see their product as harmful to the environment, contributing to climate change [and] harmful to their health, because they don’t want them to vote for politicians or support legislation or support regulation that would curb their ability to sell natural gas into the indefinite future,” she said.
Hogan said she’d like to see the utility put more resources toward geothermal energy. PGW is conducting a geothermal pilot project at a school and recreation center in Northwest Philadelphia.
When asked by WHYY News about its promotional campaign, its costs and its purpose, PGW spokesman Dan Gross said in an email that, “like all companies, both for profit and nonprofit, PGW works to broaden its base of users. This growth is critical to lowering the costs of our residential customers, including many struggling to afford the cost of energy.”
Thirty-six invoices obtained through a Right-to-Know request filed by a utility watchdog show PGW spent more than $4.2 million on promotional campaigns from September 2023 through November 2024.