Philadelphia Gas Works Continues Advancing Efforts to Cut Methane Emissions
Posted on: Jun 17, 2026PHILADELPHIA (June 17, 2026) – Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) released its comprehensive Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Reduction Report for fiscal year 2025, spanning from September 2024 to August 2025. Most notably, PGW not only achieved its corporate objective to decrease Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions by 10,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) but exceeded its target to a total of over 12,000 metric tons of CO2e. This achievement is largely attributed to PGW’s ongoing accelerated main replacement program, which will proactively replace 176 cumulative miles of aging pipelines and reduce methane emissions by 776 metric tons over the next four years.
PGW has several existing programs designed to actively reduce the company’s carbon footprint and is exploring and pursuing new opportunities to further lower emissions. This report provides updates on PGW’s ongoing initiatives.
Since 2011, PGW has significantly expanded its clean-energy profile while lowering emissions as part of the company’s clean energy strategy, including its commitment to helping the City of Philadelphia meet its carbon reduction goals.
In FY 2025, PGW:
- Remained on track to eliminate its unprotected steel services inventory by 2040 and cast-iron mains inventory by 2058. In calendar year 2025, PGW was officially awarded $40 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) inaugural funding opportunity from the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) Grant Program.
- Replaced 36.1 miles of cast iron main and unprotected steel services, reducing emissions by approximately 7,267 metric tons of CO2e.
- Under PGW's EnergySense portfolio of customer energy efficiency programs, reduced 3,000 metric tons of annual CO2e emissions.
- Diverted hundreds of tons of waste through recycling and avoided approximately 1,272 metric tons of CO2e emissions from landfills, marking a significant increase from previous years.
PGW reduces emissions primarily through three different emissions categories- Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
- Scope 1: Emissions created directly and exclusively by PGW’s operations – for example, while fueling its facilities, driving fleet vehicles, and maintaining PGW’s infrastructure.
- Scope 2: Indirect emissions from PGW that come from purchased electricity used for PGW’s own use across its facilities.
- Scope 3: Any emissions generated and not associated with the company itself, but emissions that PGW is indirectly responsible for throughout the consumer value chain. For example, purchased goods and services, employee commuting, and customer use of PGW’s product.
Looking to the future, in FY 2027, PGW will continue its natural gas actuator program, replacing two more natural gas valves at its stations. These devices previously continuously vented natural gas by design for safety reasons but are now being replaced with newer equipment to reduce emissions. Additionally, with the $1.1 million in funding awarded to PGW this year from the Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Agency’s RISE PA grant, PGW will replace 33 valve components across multiple metering and regulating stations, which is expected to reduce valve methane emissions by 54 percent.
Please visit pgworks.com/sustainability to learn more.
For Media help call our media hotline - Phone: (267) 249-7542
