Council Members Kill Proposed Sale of Philadelphia's Gas Utility

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter is calling the City Council's decision to effectively kill the proposed sale of the city's gas utility a 'cop-out.' Council President Darrell Clarke says there was 'no appetite' for the proposed $1.86 billion sale of Philadelphia Gas Works to UIL Holdings Corp. Nutter said in March that the sale would inject $424 million into the city's distressed pension fund, freezing rates for three years and maintaining low-income and senior discount programs while safeguarding pensions. Union leaders and several environmental organizations opposed the idea. Nutter told reporters that the council's decision was 'quite possibly the biggest cop-out that we've seen in recent legislative history in Philadelphia.' PGW is the nation's largest city-owned gas utility. It has more than half a million customers and more than 1,600 employees.