City Council Kills $1.86B Purchase of PGW

PHILADELPHIA—The City Council on Monday evening rejected the proposed $1.86-billion sale of the Philadelphia Gas Works to ULI Holdings of New Haven, CT.

Philadelphia City Council President Darrell L. Clarke said that after six months of due diligence, "The simple reality is that there is no appetite to sell PGW as proposed by that specific, very specific proposal."

The council's decision was criticized by ULI and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who had supported the sale of the utility to help fund the city's pension system, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

Mayor Nutter called the Council's decision "opposite of transparency and openness" and "quite possibly the biggest copout that we've seen in recent legislative history in Philadelphia."

ULI spokesperson Michael West said, "We entered into this transaction in good faith and were hopeful for a fair and equitable process. We were prepared to be included in a process with a high degree of transparency that we believed was forthcoming. Ostensibly, that didn't happen and this appears to be an unprecedented decision regarding the disposition of a public asset."

A number of union and environmental groups opposed the sale of the utility. Gas Workers Local 686 in a prepared statement, said, "The hard working members of UWUA Local 686 thank Council President Darrell Clarke and all of City Council for making the right decision for the city. This proposed sale was never in the best interests of our citizens, especially the poor and elderly on fixed incomes. PGW is a stable, profitable city asset and we are delighted that it will remain so." See story in the Philadelphia Business Journal.