WHEREAS, Rising inflation has increased the cost of living for many Americans, as reflected in the Consumer Price Index and other measures; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia’s poverty rate is higher than the national average and Philadelphia’s median income is below the national average; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphians have felt the financial impact of rising inflation on household expenses; and
WHEREAS, In order to maintain affordability of energy costs, in 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) amended the PUC’s Policy Statement on Customer Assistance Programs (CAPs) to establish the following maximum energy burden thresholds based on percentage of household income for low-income customers participating in CAPs who are in Federal Poverty Income Guideline (FPIG) tiers 51%-100% and 101%-150%: “6% for natural gas heating, 4% for electric non-heating, and 10% for electric heating”; and for customers in “FPIG tier 0%-50%, the maximum energy burden is 4% for natural gas heating, 2% for electric non-heating, and 6% for electric heating”; and
WHEREAS, High utility costs can be an unplanned financial burden on Philadelphians; and
WHEREAS, PECO is a privately-owned company providing electricity and natural gas to residential customers in the City of Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) and the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) are municipally-owned utility companies providing natural gas and water to residential customers in the City of Philadelphia, respectively; and
WHEREAS, The implementation of a comprehensive plan to reduce residential utility costs will relieve the financial burden on many Philadelphians and improve energy efficiency; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That we hereby call on PECO, Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), and the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) to develop comprehensive plans to reduce energy costs to consumers and to improve energy efficiency.
End