MICHAEL NUTTER CALLS ON THE PHILADELPHIA GAS COMMISSION TO REJECT THE PGW BONUS PAY PROGRAM
$500,000 dollars in bonuses were paid to PGW top officials in 2005 – a similar program is proposed in the 2007 budget.

Philadelphia, October 3, 2006 –On Wednesday, October 4, 2006 the Philadelphia Gas Commission will meet to decide the PGW budget for the coming year. The budget includes a provision that would allow PGW top officials a bonus payout similar to what they received last year. The 2005 program paid the company’s president a bonus of $27,500, 8.6 percent of his annual $320,000 salary. Some other top PGW senior executives received payouts equal to 18 percent of their salaries. Mayoral candidate Michael Nutter is calling on the Commission to deny PGW officials the big payout.

 

“I am calling on the Philadelphia Gas Commission to reject these excessive bonuses on behalf of the citizens and ratepayers of Philadelphia,” said Nutter.

 

In contention is a bonus program that included $500,000 in bonuses paid to PGW’s top officials. The program was only recently revealed to the commission in the 2007 PGW budget. The bonuses were not disclosed in the 2005 or 2006 company budget, although executives received the bonus in 2005. The approval of the program in the 2007 budget would allow payout to top officials for work completed in 2006, but according to PGW’s President will not be as large as the 2005 payout.

The revelation of the bonuses sent shock waves throughout the Commission, given that PGW has debt in excess of $1 billion and has a proposed billion-dollar budget for 2007 with a provision that allows bonuses to be paid again to its top officials.

 

“It is clear that these bonuses are inappropriate and excessive. The ratepayers and citizens of Philadelphia should be outraged that these bonuses are being proposed. Given the inability of many low-income ratepayers to even pay their bills and the onset of winter, PGW management should be taking every possible step to ensure its revenues are being used to make the company more efficient and using the excess revenues to create more grant opportunities for people in need,” Nutter declared.

PGW faced stiff penalties from the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission last year because of 14 violations and two deaths due to termination of services. With winter temperatures fast approaching and the price of gas at $12.56 per thousand cubic feet (a rate increase from $9.71 in 2005), the Commission has to determine what kind of message it wants to send to the people of Philadelphia. Mayoral Candidate Michael Nutter believes rejecting the bonus program is the right message for Philadelphia residents.

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Last Updated: March 21, 2007