(Philadelphia, Pa. – March 3, 2008) – The Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) has filed a request with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to reduce its annual Gas Cost Rate (GCR) by $16.3 million, effective September 1, 2008.

If approved, the new rate would reduce the monthly bill of a typical residential heating customer using 92 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas a year from $148.34 to $145.89 per month, or approximately 1.6 percent.

Other customer classifications would be affected as follows: the monthly bill of a typical commercial heating customer using 418 Mcf a year would be reduced from $616 to $605, or by approximately 1.8 percent; the monthly bill of a typical industrial heating customer using 1,066 Mcf a year would be reduced from $1,575 to $1,546, or by approximately 1.8 percent; and the monthly bill of a municipal service heating customer using 1,760 Mcf a year would be reduced from $2,366 to $2,319, or approximately 2 percent.

The proposed reductions are the result of a projected rate decrease of $0.3190 per Mcf based upon a comparison between the GCR in effect on December 1 ($10.5779 per Mcf) and the projected rate in PGW’s annual rate filing ($10.2589 Mcf).

The GCR represents an estimate of what PGW expects to pay for natural gas from its suppliers and provides the means to pass along those costs to customers without profit to PGW. The rate is recalculated quarterly to reflect actual costs, and it may be reduced or increased if the recalculated rate differs from the approved annual rate by more than 2%. The quarterly filing dates are March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1.

To find out more about the filing, customers may contact PGW at 215-235-1000 or examine the material that was filed with the PUC at PGW’s main office, 800 W. Montgomery Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Customers may challenge PGW’s request to change rates by filing a formal complaint or by sending the PUC a letter explaining why they object to the rate change request to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, P.O. Box 3265, Harrisburg, PA 17105. The contact number for the PUC is 1-800-728-1110. Complaint forms are available on the PUC Web site:
http://www.puc.state.pa.us/general/onlineformes/pdf/official_complaint_form_final.pdf

Founded in 1836, PGW is the nation’s largest municipally owned natural gas utility, serving a half million residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the City of Philadelphia.