In The News

PGW Reminds Residents and Contractors to Know What’s Below for National Safe Digging Month

Always call 811 before digging to avoid potential injuries and
service disruptions caused by damaging buried utilities
 

PHILADELPHIA (April 13, 2021) –Throughout April, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) will recognize National Safe Digging Month by reminding contractors and residents to call 811, or visit pa1call.org, before starting a project that requires underground excavation (digging) or any building demolition work no matter the size of the project. In Pennsylvania, residents and contractors are legally required to call the Pennsylvania One Call System 3 to 10 business days prior to beginning a project in order to report where underground excavation is planned.

Calling 811, Pennsylvania’s “One Call” system, will alert PGW along with other utilities to identify and mark their service or distribution lines near the proposed worksite to prevent injuries, property damage, and inconvenient and costly utility outages. This service is free to any homeowner working on their residential property.
 

Safe digging is a shared responsibility among excavators, homeowners, and facility owners. The Common Ground Alliance (CGA), a member-driven association committed to raising the public’s awareness of underground safety, conducted a recent survey where approximately four in ten homeowners stated that they plan to dig on their property this year for an outdoor home or property improvement project. Of those homeowners who plan to dig, 45 percent did not plan to call 811 before they dig. Two-thirds of homeowners surveyed believe they would not hit an unmarked underground utility line or cause a service outage if they dug without calling 811.

In 2019, the costs of damages to buried utilities in the U.S. was estimated at $30 billion.
 

PGW also encourages City residents to call 811 to report any suspect contractor that may be digging without a valid Pennsylvania One Call ticket in place, which alerts all facility owners of a possible safety concern. Job sites that do not have visible paint or flag markings onsite should be reported to 811. Natural gas lines are identified and marked by yellow paint or flags. Yellow is specific to natural gas, steam, and petroleum pipelines.

For more information about safe digging practices, please visit, https://www.pgworks.com/customer-care/your-business/builders-contractors.

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About PGW:

Founded in 1836, The Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) is owned by the City of Philadelphia and is the largest municipally owned gas utility in the country. It manages a distribution system of approximately 6,000 miles of gas mains and service pipes supplying approximately 500,000 customers. PGW's operations are managed by a non-profit corporation, the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation (PFMC). More information about the company is available at pgworks.com. 

SOCIAL MEDIA TAGS: PGW Twitter: @MyPGW ~ PGW Facebook: facebook.com/MyPGW ~ PGW Instagram @mypgw ~ PGW YouTube: PhillyGasWorks ~ Nextdoor: nextdoor.com/MyPG

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LIHEAP Deadline Extended to April 30; PGW Encourages Customers to Apply Now for Heating Assistance

Low-income customers who have fallen behind on their natural gas bills
may receive up to $1,000 in free payment assistance

PHILADELPHIA (April 8, 2021) – Philadelphia Gas Works’ (PGW) customers in need of payment assistance now have until Friday, April 30 to apply for a free Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) grant in an amount of up to $1,000.

On April 1, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s (PUC) winter moratorium on non-payment terminations expired, and PGW urges customers to apply for LIHEAP immediately to avoid service termination.

“With the LIHEAP application deadline extended, PGW encourages customers to take advantage of this opportunity and contact PGW about LIHEAP,” said Denise Adamucci, Vice President of Regulatory Compliance and Customer Programs at PGW. “Each year, many eligible customers fail to apply for LIHEAP and miss out on free money for their natural gas bills. PGW wants as many households as possible to receive LIHEAP assistance in order to stay current with their bills, and maintain their natural gas service.”

To get an application for LIHEAP, customers can call PGW’s Customer Care Team at 215-235-1000, Mon. - Fri., 8 a.m. - 6 p.m., or print a LIHEAP application at pgworks.com/liheap.

Applicants for LIHEAP assistance must have a household income at or below 150 percent of the Federal Poverty Level to meet the eligibility requirements. The grants are based on household size and income, available to both renters and homeowners, and do not have to be repaid. Eligibility guidelines are available at pgworks.com/liheap.

LIHEAP grants for PGW customers are applied directly to the "Please Pay" amount of their bill. Customers enrolled in PGW’s Customer Responsibility Program (CRP) can benefit from both their regular CRP discount and the additional LIHEAP grant when paying their bill. 

Customers without utility service can apply for both Crisis assistance and LIHEAP together. Crisis assistance is a federal grant awarded to income-eligible customers.

For more information on LIHEAP, LIHEAP Crisis and additional PGW payment assistance programs, visit pgworks.com/residential/customer-care/payment-assistance.

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AAA Mid-Atlantic’s First CNG Fueling Station is Complete

AAA Philadelphia Fleet Depot utilizing its first compressed natural gas (CNG) station, fueling medium roadside assistance vehicles in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, PA (April 6, 2021) AAA Mid-Atlantic, in partnership with Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), Air & Gas Technologies and the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation (EPACT), announce the completion of a time-fill CNG (compressed natural gas) fueling station located at their Philadelphia, PA Fleet Depot. The station handles AAA Mid-Atlantic’s 23 CNG battery trucks via 12 time-fill hoses and is the first station of its kind in AAA Club Alliance’s territory.

“We have been committed to employing alternative fuels to both control costs and protect the environment,” said Mike Matijkiw, Fleet Business Manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. “The new CNG station helps us take advantage of several programs that reduce our operational costs and support our continued investment in alternative fuels.”

Thanks in part to the funding support of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Alternative Fuel Incentive Grant program and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Alternative Clean Energy program, AAA completed the construction of the company’s first CNG station for their Philadelphia Fleet Depot this January.  Funding from these programs drove down the capital costs for the station by 50%.  Utility incentives from PGW further supported the project, making it cash flow positive from day one.

“PGW is proud to partner with AAA to expand the availability of compressed natural gas and contribute to the environmental health of the city and region,” said Florian Teme, Vice President of Marketing at PGW.  “Using CNG rather than gasoline or diesel helps to reduce carbon emissions and is a more economical fueling source, which will be beneficial to AAA and its membership.”

Designed and developed by Air and Gas Technologies, the station has a daily capacity of 450 gasoline gallon equivalents (GGE) to supports AAA’s CNG fleet today and into the future. The CNG station compresses natural gas on-site, allowing AAA to fill up on CNG while the vehicles are parked overnight.

“AAA is a great leader and partner to the Philadelphia community”, said Vince Tomasso, President of Air & Gas Technologies, “We commend them on their continued investment into alternative fuels.”

Having access to fueling on site has eased range anxiety and saved time that was formerly spent driving to the public CNG station at the airport, a few miles down the road. Other Philadelphia fleets that have made an investment into CNG include the City of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Airport and Temple University.  PGW also has its own fleet of CNG Honda Civics.

Another first this station brings to the city is the company’s use of Renewable Natural Gas (RNG). RNG is methane that has be captured from an emitting source, like a landfill, and put to productive use – in this case as a transportation fuel.  Filling the company’s 23 CNG trucks with RNG offsets AAA’s carbon footprint by over 300 tons of CO2 per year over fossil natural gas, supporting Philadelphia’s goal of carbon neutrality by the year 2050 and promoting clean air in the communities they serve. RNG for this project was sourced domestically by Renewable Connections.

AAA Mid-Atlantic is a long-standing member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Alliance for Clean Transportation – a Department of Energy designated Clean Cities Coalition tasked with helping fleets convert to cleaner fuels.  Through interactions with the coalition, the company worked with fellow members PGW and Air and Gas Technologies to identify grant funding for the station.

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