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State Pressures Philly Utility to Speed Gas Main Replacement

State regulators are pressuring Philadelphia Gas Works to speed up the replacement of at-risk gas mains after the city-owned utility said the process could take 88 years.
StateImpact reported

this week that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has opened a safety review of Philadelphia Gas Works' repair plan.

Commission Chairman Rob Powelson said they're concerned about leak-prone cast iron and steel pipes that account for nearly two-thirds of PGW's gas mains.

StateImpact is a collaboration between radio stations WITF-FM and WHYY-FM.

The commission wants PGW to expedite the installation of plastic replacements. Powelson says they could force Philadelphia to put the $18 million it receives each year from the utility toward pipe replacement.

City council in November rejected a $1.86 billion bid for PGW by Connecticut-based UIL Holdings Corp.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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