PUC stands by decision to punish PGW for lien practices
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has declined to reconsider a far-reaching 2016 decision to fine the Philadelphia Gas Works $27,000 and ordered the city-owned utility to refund $566,000 in late charges to an owner of several apartment complexes.
The PUC on Thursday unanimously rejected PGW’s request to revisit the decision, in which SBG Management Services Inc., an Abington rental-property manager, successfully challenged PGW’s practice of assessing 18 percent annual late fees on amounts that are under lien.
PGW has fought the decision because it has broad ramifications on the utility’s practice of slapping liens on thousands of indebted customers. Unlike investor-owned utilities, government-owned utilities like PGW can assess liens, which are legal attachments to real estate.
SBG, which owns and manages properties in North and Northwest Philadelphia, had disputed the accuracy of PGW’s billings going back to 2005, including the calculation of interest and penalties. In protest, it refused to pay its bills over long stretches, and PGW placed 39 liens on its properties.
Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/energy/puc-upholds-rebuke-pgw-liens-sbg-management-services-20180119.html
