Dueling letters over selling Philadelphia Gas Works

Philadelphia’s Mayor and City Council President are arguing about the fate of Philadelphia Gas Works through letters.

The missive from Mayor Michael Nutter says despite what Council President Darrell Clarke says, introducing a bill to sell PGW to a private concern does not trigger a review by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Nutter stresses that the PUC will not take up the application until the sale is approved by City Council.

The correspondence also confirms that the PUC review process will take about nine to 10 months and that modifications to the sale agreement can be done later if necessary.

City Council did not introduce the bill during this week after members got a memo from Council President Clarke saying that the PUC could potentially conclude its process before council, possibly pressuring council to act before it’s ready.

Council is spending more than $400,000 to fully vet the deal, including a look at competing offers that the Nutter Administration considered before accepting the winning bid of nearly $2 billion.