More than a year after some Philadelphians received shockingly high gas bills during a month when people tend to use little heat, state utility regulators have ordered Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) to tweak one of its billing practices — weather normalization adjustment. PGW will stop adjusting customers’ bills to account for weather fluctuations during the month of May. But advocates for low-income utility customers say the change doesn’t go far enough. “This doesn’t resolve the structural problems in how the [weather normalization adjustment] operates,” said Robert Ballenger, an attorney with Community Legal Services representing the Tenant Union Representative Network. “Allowing that to continue, to us, is really questionable.” The weather normalization adjustment is a billing tool PGW has used for more than 20 years to smooth its revenue when temperature fluctuations mean customers use more or less heat than usual. The utility credits customers when a month is colder than normal, compared to a 20-year historical average, and charges customers when a month is warmer than normal. The adjustment has traditionally applied during the months of October through May. PGW is one of four utilities in Pennsylvania that use a weather normalization adjustment. Records show the adjustment has cost PGW customers tens of millions of dollars in recent years, and critics say it is unfair as temperatures rise due to climate change.
Source: PlanPhilly; 9/25/2023