Philadelphia’s biggest barrier to climate action is PGW

This is a perilous moment for our communities and for our climate — yet people in power seem to be intent on turning up the temperature.

In the past year and a half, the Biden administration has opened up millions of acres for oil and gas production. In June, the Supreme Court delivered a gift to the coal industry when it decided to limit how the Environmental Protection Agency can regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. And now, a new set of federal climate policy guidelines are set to take effect as part of the Inflation Reduction Act — but we know the fossil fuel industry loves the new regulations, and that it’s not enough to limit dangerous global heating.

Here in Philadelphia, we face our own significant barriers to climate action, not least among them being the unaccountable, undemocratic leadership at Philadelphia Gas Works. It’s worth noting that PGW is a public utility, not a private company. But time and again, the utility’s leaders have acted against the public interest, and elected officials have failed to hold them accountable.

In 2019, PGW representatives, working alongside the American Gas Association, broke with city officials and the city’s Office of Sustainability by voting against cleaner building codes. Last year, emails showed that PGW leaders helped draft a bill in the Pennsylvania Senate written in part by fossil fuel industry lobbyists, which would have preemptively blocked efforts to promote electrification of buildings across Pennsylvania. This was a bill resoundingly opposed by City Council and by Mayor Jim Kenney, and it would have become law if Gov. Tom Wolf hadn’t vetoed it last month. Just this spring, PGW sought to limit community groups from participating in its budget proceedings.

Despite these setbacks, community groups and activists are still fighting to be involved in shaping the city’s renewable energy future — and they’ve had some wins. In May, after months of public pressure, the utility’s leaders proposed $500,000 to plan geothermal energy pilot projects.

But it’s still an uphill battle to get PGW leaders to develop a plan to end its reliance on natural gas, ensure all Philadelphians have access to affordable renewable energy, and sustain and create union jobs. Recently, 25 organizations signed on to a public statement calling for basic measures in PGW’s 2023 operating budget to ensure transparency and accountability from the utility’s leadership. The statement urges the Philadelphia Gas Commission to require PGW to set greenhouse gas emission targets for 2025 and 2030, to provide updates about PGW’s progress toward meeting those goals, and to create a clear engagement strategy with workers and residents. None of these proposals is new. Mayor Kenney called on the utility to take these steps back in December, but PGW managers haven’t announced a clear plan to comply.

The gas commission’s senior hearing examiner rejected the recommendations. But after activists — myself included — applied some pressure on the streets of Center City last week, the commission on Tuesday voted to add some requirements to PGW’s next operating budget — including, crucially, quarterly reports on its geothermal energy planning study and its plan to reduce Scope 3 emissions. Still, the commission failed to require many of the reporting and public participation commitments one should expect of a public institution. PGW will still not be required to report how it plans to engage the public or provide details about the money it intends to spend on transitioning away from fossil fuels.

» READ MORE: Business as usual for PGW is bad for consumers, the climate, and even PGW | Editorial

PGW’s leaders would have us believe that Philadelphians shouldn’t worry about this, and simply trust that the utility will engage the public, move quickly away from fossil fuels, and provide regular updates along the way. But we have no reason to believe that. Look at PGW leadership’s past behavior, and it’s easy to see a pattern of avoiding public accountability, acting against the will of our elected representatives, and pursuing fossil fuel expansion.

The stakes are too high for us to allow PGW leadership to continue acting this way. Last month was likely one of the five hottest Julys in 151 years of record-keeping in this city. At least five people have died in Philadelphia from heat-related causes since July 23.

The climate crisis is here, and it’s only getting worse. Philadelphia needs to start seriously planning for a future beyond fossil fuels. Transparency, accountability, and public participation during this process are table stakes. We should accept nothing less.

Jordan G. Teicher is an organizer with Philly DSA, the local chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. @teicherj