WILLIAMSPORT, Pa., May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of
Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc. (PEI) (NYSE: PNT), Wilkes-Barre, was re-elected
today during the annual meeting of the Corporation's shareowners.
Re-elected to the board are:
-- Chairman Ronald W. Simms, President and CEO of Petroleum Service
Company, Inc., of Wilkes-Barre.
-- Vice Chairman William D. Davis, former Chairman of Commonwealth Bank
Division of Meridian Bank, Williamsport.
-- President and CEO Thomas F. Karam.
-- Robert J. Keating, a former PEI and PG Energy Board Chairman and
former Board Chairman of Parodi Industries, Inc., Scranton.
-- James A. Ross, an independent financial consultant.
-- John D. McCarthy, Chairman and CEO of McCarthy Tire Service Company
and President of McCarthy Realty, Inc., Wilkes-Barre.
-- Kenneth M. Pollock, President and CEO of Intercoastal Management,
Inc., and Vice President of HUD, Inc., doing business as Emerald
Anthracite II, Nanticoke.
-- John D. McCarthy, Jr., President of McCarthy Tire Service,
Wilkes-Barre.
-- Richard A. Rose, Jr., President of Petroleum Sales Company, Inc., and
Vice President of Petroleum Service Company, Inc., Wilkes-Barre.
PEI Board of Directors members also serve as the Board of Directors of PG
Energy, PEI's principal subsidiary. Each Board member was re-elected to a
one-year term.
The Board was re-elected today as PEI shareowners attended the
Corporation's annual meeting, conducted this year in the Community Arts
Center, Williamsport.
Mr. Karam, in an address to the shareowners, discussed PEI's financial
performance in 1998, the approaching deregulation of Pennsylvania's natural
gas industry and progress being made on several corporate ventures, including
non-regulated natural gas and electricity sales and development of PEI Power
Park in Archbald.
Mr. Karam said 1998 was a year of "stark contrast" that include a change
in Board leadership and unseasonably warm weather that "dramatically impacted
our bottom line."
"On the other hand, it was also a year in which we continued to transform
and position your Company for a competitive energy environment," Mr. Karam
said of PG Energy PowerPlus's growth in non-regulated electricity and natural
gas sales.
"To date, PG Energy PowerPlus has enrolled over 20,000 electric customers
in Pennsylvania's Customer Choice Program," Mr. Karam said. He said PG Energy
PowerPlus's natural gas sales increased from 2.73 billion cubic feet for the
first quarter of 1998 to 4.39 billion cubic feet for the first quarter of
1999, a 61 percent increase.
Before concluding his remarks, Mr. Karam referred to PEI's first quarter
earnings statement that was issued Tuesday.
"We reported a 66 percent increase in earnings per share and net income of
$9.9 million, an increase of almost 79 percent from the same period in 1998,"
Mr. Karam said. "We began 1999 with very positive first quarter results and
look forward to continuing our momentum throughout the year."
During the organizational meeting of the Board of Directors, conducted
after the annual meeting, Mr. Karam and other existing officers of PEI were
re-elected to their respective positions. In addition, the Board elected
Donna M. Abdalla to the position of Vice President of Corporate and Public
Affairs for PEI and PG Energy, PEI's principal subsidiary. All officers of PG
Energy were re-elected to their respective positions.
PEI is a holding company with regulated and non-regulated subsidiaries.
The regulated group consists of PG Energy and its subsidiary, Honesdale Gas
Company, which together provide natural gas to more than 153,000 customers in
13 counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. The non-regulated group
consists of PEI Power Corp., Theta Land Corp. and PG Energy Services and its
subsidiary, Keystone Pipeline Services, Inc. PG Energy Services markets
energy and energy products in a large area of Pennsylvania under the name PG
Energy PowerPlus.
PEI news releases are available on the Company's web site at http://www.pnt.com.
Selected press releases are available 24 hours a day by fax by calling
1-800-758-5804 on a touch-tone phone. By using PEI's identification number
684209 and following the prompted instructions, copies of press releases will
be faxed to you immediately free of charge.
SOURCE Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.pnt.com
Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/684209.html or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 684209
CONTACT:
John J. Hambrose of Pennsylvania Enterprises,
570-829-8756
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