PGW shutoffs are up nearly 39%, and 16 councilmembers want a hearing
Resolution 260897, adopted Oct. 22, sends the question to the Transportation and Public Utilities Committee as heating season begins.
City Council on Oct. 22 authorized hearings on residential gas shutoffs at Philadelphia Gas Works, the city-owned utility. It adopted Resolution 260897, led by 4th District Councilmember Curtis Jones Jr., at the same session where City & State reported that affordability dominated public comment.
The timing matters. Gas heats many Philadelphia homes, and the resolution notes that families who lose service face health and safety risks. Shutoffs resumed after winter protections ended March 31, according to the Philadelphia Tribune figures the resolution cites.
The numbers in the resolution
The resolution relies on records obtained by the Philadelphia Tribune:
- PGW disconnected 29,388 residential customers for nonpayment from April through August 2026, up from 21,176 in the same months of 2025. That is an increase of nearly 39%.
- The shutoffs through August nearly matched the 29,810 recorded for the whole April-to-November period in 2025.
- Residential customers owed about $161.7 million in unpaid gas bills in May 2026, up about 10% from $146.9 million a year earlier.
The resolution also cites the city's Energy Poverty Alleviation Strategy, which found the median energy burden for Black households was 53% higher than for non-Hispanic white households. It notes that applications, recertification rules, language barriers and low awareness keep some eligible households out of assistance programs. It mentions data-sharing between PGW and the state Department of Human Services to ease enrollment.
Who signed on
Legistar lists 16 sponsors: Jones, Council President Kenyatta Johnson, Anthony Phillips, Katherine Gilmore Richardson, Jamie Gauthier, Isaiah Thomas, Rue Landau, Quetcy Lozada, Jeffery Young Jr., Kendra Brooks, Jim Harrity, Nicolas O'Rourke, Mike Driscoll, Brian O'Neill, Mark Squilla and Nina Ahmad. The only member not listed is 8th District Councilmember Cindy Bass. She was also absent from the session's recorded votes, which were 16-0.
How this connects to other affordability pushes
- At the Oct. 15 session, a faith-based coalition urged Council to press PGW to freeze gas bills for five years and to raise the homestead exemption, the Inquirer reported. Johnson said a freeze could help address the "affordability crisis around utilities," but said it would take talks with PGW's board. Council cannot set PGW's rates directly, the paper noted.
- The resolution cites the city's Cost of Living Task Force, convened by O'Rourke, which flagged utility costs as an overlooked part of the affordability problem.
- The same committee, Transportation and Public Utilities, held the Oct. 6 hearing on student SEPTA fares.
Other hearings authorized the same day
At the Oct. 22 meeting, Council also authorized a Special Committee on Kensington hearing on the past year's progress (Resolution 260899). It also authorized joint hearings on unsheltered homelessness in public rights-of-way. A week earlier it authorized Licenses and Inspections hearings on blighted and unsafe properties (Resolution 260870).
What's next
The committee now has to set a date. PGW officials would be the expected witnesses. Hearing notices appear on the Legistar calendar. If your household is behind on a gas bill, PGW and the state run assistance programs, and the hearing is expected to examine how many eligible customers are missing out.