PUC: More living with no heat utility
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On the heels of the season's first cold snap, the state Public Utility Commission has released a report predicting that the number of Pennsylvania households without utility service for heating their homes this winter would be nearly 19 percent higher than at the beginning of last winter.
The agency's Cold Weather Survey said that 17,037 households lack utility heat, compared with 14,372 this time last year. That includes 948 households served by Dominion Peoples, 931 served by Equitable Gas and 829 served by Columbia Gas. The survey also included households with electric heat, and found that 906 households served by Duquesne Light and 265 served by Allegheny Power lacked power.
Most of the total statewide increase occurred among customers of Philadelphia Gas Works, which saw its number rise to 7,335 customers without heat, from 5,187.
The PUC said that 3,992 households statewide are using potentially unsafe heating sources such as space heaters and kitchen ovens, compared with 3,373 last year.
Commission chairman James H. Cawley, urging consumers to contact their utilities to make arrangements for restoration of service, said, "We've had a taste of cold temperatures already this year, with weather forecasts predicting more for this weekend. This is just the start of the winter heating season, and not having a central heating system in the winter months can be dangerous."
First Published December 18, 2009 12:00 am
