HONESDALE, Pa., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- Honesdale Gas Company, a
subsidiary of PG Energy, has received approval from the Pennsylvania Public
Utility Commission (PPUC) to voluntarily offer a choice of gas suppliers to
all of its customers.  The commissioners of the PPUC voted unanimously to
allow Honesdale Gas Company to change its tariff and allow customer choice in
advance of the proposed state legislation to allow all residential customers
the right to choose their natural gas supplier.
    Effective tomorrow, November 1, 1997, residential customers of the
Honesdale Gas Company will enter the competitive marketplace for natural gas
providers.  Similar to the telephone industries deregulation of services and
the customer choice pilot programs being offered to 5% of the state's electric
consumers, Honesdale Gas Company will allow natural gas suppliers to compete
for their customers' business.
    PG Energy PowerPlus has requested and been approved by the Honesdale Gas
Company to market natural gas in their service territory in Wayne and Pike
County.  Honesdale Gas Company will notify its customers as other natural gas
suppliers are approved.  If customers choose to have another supplier supply
their natural gas, Honesdale Gas Company will continue to distribute the gas
to their homes in the same dependable manner.
    According to Thomas F. Karam, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Honesdale Gas Company, "Offering customer choice to all Honesdale Gas Company
customers makes us an active player in the new environment of deregulated
utilities.  We believe the competition created by customer choice will
generate savings for our customers.  Choosing an alternative supplier will not
put the reliability of your service at risk.  The introduction of competition
for residential customers represents a major change in the way utility
companies operate and we're delighted to be among the first energy companies
in Pennsylvania to voluntarily offer choice to all our residential, commercial
and industrial customers."
    The Honesdale Gas Company will notify its customers of the changes and
will schedule meetings in Honesdale and Milford to address these issues and
answer customer questions.  In addition to the public meetings, customers can
call Honesdale Gas Company's Customer Choice Hotline toll free at
1-888-876-4394.
    Honesdale Gas Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of PG Energy, delivers
natural gas to over 3,300 customers in Wayne and Pike Counties and offers gas
appliance sales and service from its offices in Honesdale and Milford.  PG
Energy, the parent company of Honesdale Gas Company, delivers natural gas to
approximately 145,000 customers in an eleven county region in northeastern and
central Pennsylvania.  PG Energy is a regulated subsidiary of Pennsylvania
Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PNT).

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