Peoples Gas owner to buy T.W. Phillips of Butler (Pittsburgh: sale, how much)

[Honest Bob]

The investment fund that owns Peoples Natural Gas Co. wants to buy another Western Pennsylvania natural gas utility, T.W. Phillips Gas and Oil Co. of Butler.
SteelRiver Infrastructure Fund North America LP announced Wednesday that it has an agreement to buy the century-old, privately held company and run it separately from the much larger Peoples Gas company, which before February was part of energy giant Dominion Resources Inc.
T.W. Phillips would retain its name and headquarters and continue to function as a regional natural gas distribution company, with 200 employees and more than 60,000 customers in northern Allegheny and parts of nine neighboring counties.



Peoples Gas owner to buy T.W. Phillips of Butler - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

They have already transferred ownership of some of their land to PC Exploration from T W Phillips and the sale will be complete by 2012

I wonder what that will do to our gas bills?

[marktheshark]

I've heard alot of complaints about Phillips' rates. Maybe you'll get lucky...

[Honest Bob]

Mod cut -Copyright - just post the link please.

When people from the city who works in investment firms, banks, for the gas company itself - comes on the internet and gives a uninformed opinion about how great the natural gas industry is for my area and for the state of Pennsylvania - I just have to laugh - because some of those city slickers has never even seen a natural gas well site - before and after the wells were drilled.

Natural gas lays under the ground in pockets.
They were deposited there millions of years ago.
They know nothing about property lines drawn on a tax map.
At times several gas companies explores in the same pocket.
Each company drills as many wells as possible - to get the gas out as quickly as possible.
By combining two gas companies - the competition goes away and each company can now charge as much as they want.
That is the bad thing about deregulation - when there is no one there to tell them how much they are allowed to charge - they will charge as much as the economy will support.

I knew that as soon as they approved the sale that the next thing they would ask for would be a rate increase.
If they are doing us such great favors combining two companies - then why should they need more of my money to invest into their infrastructure - when they are selling it.

Would be like washing the car, filling the gas tank and putting new tires and changing the oil in a car that you are going to sell tomorrow.