WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Nov. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- PG Energy announced today that
it has signed a Settlement Agreement regarding its request for an increase in
its base gas rates.  The Settlement Agreement is subject to review and
approval by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PPUC) which has been
considering PG Energy's request.
    Under the terms of the Settlement Agreement, PG Energy will receive an
overall increase of $7.5 million in additional annual revenue or 4.1% over the
rates the PPUC has previously approved effective December 1, 1996.
Residential rates will increase an average of 4.5%, while commercial and
industrial rates will, on average, decrease 2.4% and 5.6%, respectively.  The
varying effects on the different customer groups are the result of bringing
rates more in line with related cost of service for such groups.
    The projected effective date for the rate increase is January 15, 1997.
However, the Settlement Agreement includes a provision for deferring the
billing of the increase for residential heating customers until July 1997.
PG Energy stated that it had proposed this innovative arrangement to lessen
the impact of the increase on customers during the winter months when
consumption is high.  Typically, bills in July are low because they include
only minimal, if any, charges for heating and because there is no budget
billing in that month for customers of PG Energy who elect budget billing.
The July 1997 bill for residential customers will include the deferred rate
increase which will be approximately $20.00.  The Settlement Agreement
provides that there will be no interest or carrying charges on the deferred
billing.
    On May 24, 1996, PG Energy filed the base gas rate case seeking a 9.95%
increase which amounted to $14.1 million in additional annual revenue.  The
PPUC suspended the increase until February 23, 1997, while it conducted
hearings and investigated the filing.
    Other principal parties to the Settlement Agreement are the PPUC's Office
of Trial Staff, the Office of Consumer Advocate and the Office of Small
Business Advocate, as well as a number of industrial intervenors.  The
Settlement Agreement has been submitted to a PPUC Administrative Law Judge for
review and recommendation prior to its review and approval by the PPUC.
    PG Energy is a subsidiary of Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: PNT), a
holding company with regulated and non-regulated subsidiaries.  The regulated
subsidiary is PG Energy which provides natural gas to approximately 142,000
customers in ten counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.  The non-regulated
group consists of Pennsylvania Energy Resources, Inc., its subsidiary Keystone
Pipeline Services, Inc., and Theta Land Corporation.

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