Three Pennsylvania LDCs filed restructuring plans with thePennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PUC) last week to expandsupplier choice within the state. Filing plans were Columbia Gas ofPennsylvania, Peoples Natural Gas and PG Energy, a subsidiary ofPennsylvania Enterprises Inc. As part of the Natural Gas Choice andCompetition Act passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly June17, each gas utility is required to submit a restructuring plan tothe PUC by Nov. 1.

The Act will allow all consumers in the state to choose analternative gas supplier by July 1, 2000, and will makePennsylvania one of the first states to offer both gas and electricconsumers choice on a statewide level.

Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s existing choice program ranksamong the best in the nation for level of participation and numberof suppliers. More than 70% of the company’s 382,000 customers arealready able to comparison-shop for their own gas supplier. As ofAug. 1, 110,957, or more than 40% of the 278,689 eligible customerswill buy gas from an alternative supplier.

PG Energy, with nearly 150,000 residential and commercialcustomers, is the only company serving areas in central andnortheastern Pennsylvania to file a plan. “Most of our customersnever before had the opportunity to shop for a natural gassupplier,” said PG Energy CEO Thomas F. Karam. “The ability to shopfor both electricity and natural gas supply empowers our customersto select options that best suit their needs.”

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