Resolution 160209

..Title Honoring the Philadelphia Gas Works on the occasion of its 180th Anniversary. ..Body WHEREAS, On February 8, 1836, 46 natural gas lights along Second Street in Philadelphia were lit for the first time by employees of the newly formed Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW); and WHEREAS, In 1926, the City of Philadelphia became one of the first cities in the United States to actively market and install natural gas hot water heaters to replace coal-fired hot water heaters; and WHEREAS, In 1936, from the same mingling of innovation and community that guides it today, PGW hosted the Girls Scouts of America to bake their first cookies in PGW natural gas ovens and sell them from PGW store windows; and WHEREAS, In 1945, the single point ignition range was developed in PGW's laboratory, a first for the industry, to give thousands of customers the ability to conveniently light their burners; and WHEREAS, In 1955, the Northern Liberties Gas Company became the last of ten independent gas companies to merge with PGW; and WHEREAS, In 1963, the last 24 gas street lights on Independence Mall, in addition to 1.64 million customer appliances, were converted in six months to burn today's version of natural gas; and WHEREAS, In the 1970's, PGW constructed two 12-story Liquefied Natural Gas storage tanks at its Richmond Plant, which today remain among the country's largest and have saved customers hundreds of millions of dollars. Also during the 1970's, the City created the Philadelphia Facilities Management Corporation, a non-profit corporation, to manage and operate PGW; and WHEREAS, In 1983, PGW won the American Gas Association's Merit Award for helping to start the Utility Emergency Services Fund to help low income customers pay their utility bills; and WHEREAS, For the last decade, PGW has weathered challenging economic times and a changing customer base while laying the foundation to take advantage of our nation's emerging green energy market; and WHEREAS, PGW is the largest municipally-owned gas utility in the country with a distribution system of approximately 6,000 miles of gas mains and services supplying approximately 500,000 customers; and WHEREAS, The employees of PGW have dedicated themselves to safely and reliably operating the utility 24 hours a day, 365 days a year in the coldest of winter days and the hottest of summer months; and WHEREAS, For 180 years, PGW and its employees have provided essential utility service to the residents and businesses of Philadelphia with a commitment to safety, service, and innovation; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That Council does honor the Philadelphia Gas Works on the occasion of its 180th Anniversary. ..End