Urging the Congress of the United States to provide for a domestic energy policy that ensures an affordable supply of natural gas and embraces a concerted national effort to promote greater energy efficiency and environmentally responsible natural gas production.

WHEREAS, The price of natural gas in the United States, already the highest in the industrial world, has again spiked and shows continued volatility; and

WHEREAS, According to the federal Energy Information Administration, total natural gas demand is projected to grow 48% over the next 25 years; and

WHEREAS, The United States and the City of Philadelphia are increasingly reliant on natural gas in our energy supply, creating an imbalance between natural gas supply and demand; and

WHEREAS, Higher natural gas costs are passed through to consumers in the form of spiraling home heating bills, more expensive food, and higher prices for many pharmaceuticals and consumer goods; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia Gas Works’ (“PGW”) rates are already the highest in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the annual bill for a typical PGW residential heating customer is already projected to exceed $1500 for the 2005 fiscal year; and

WHEREAS, PGW is expecting the annual cost of gas supply to rise by over $60 million or nearly 14% over the prior year during fiscal year 2005; and

WHEREAS, The volatility of gas prices is having a negative effect on metal-treating, chemical, fertilizer, plastics, aluminum, and steel producers as well as the agricultural sector; and

WHEREAS, The chemical and plastics industries of the United States, once leading exporters, now have large trade deficits, in part due to rising gas prices; and

WHEREAS, Thousands of jobs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and hundreds in the City of Philadelphia are threatened in industries using natural gas as a raw material, including the business of chemistry; and

WHEREAS, The business of chemistry annually generates a total of 328,900 jobs and $27.2 billion worth of chemistry products in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, with exports totaling $2.6 billion; and

WHEREAS, The natural gas imbalance is a multi-faceted issue and will require various solutions, including but not limited to increased production, improved energy efficiency, greater conservation, and increased importation; now therefore

RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Urges the Congress of the United States to provide for a domestic energy policy that ensures an affordable supply of natural gas and embraces a concerted national effort to promote greater energy efficiency and environmentally responsible natural gas production.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each member of Congress from Pennsylvania.

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