State, concerned over 88-year estimate, pressures Philly utility to speed gas main replacement

The state is pressuring Philadelphia Gas Works to speed up the replacement of aging, leaky gas mains after the city-owned utility said the process could take 88 years.

WHYY-FM's StateImpact project reports this week (http://n.pr/1KFqWwj ) that the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has opened a safety review of Philadelphia Gas Works' repair plan.

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

The commission wants PGW to expedite the installation of plastic replacements. Powelson says they could force the city 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 from Connecticut-based UIL Holdings Corp.

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Information from: WHYY-FM, http://www.whyy.org