State Rep. RoseMarie Swanger (R-Lebanon) is asking Pennsylvania Power and Light Corporation (PPL Corp.) to end its negotiations with owners of a Philadelphia area sports facility. The Allentown-based energy company is hoping to reach an agreement on a 10-year, $20 million deal that would award PPL naming rights to the stadium, which will host a professional soccer team.
“This deal is a terrible move for so many reasons,” Swanger said. “From a public relations standpoint, how smart is it to consider such a move while PPL customers are now incurring an average 30 percent increase in their electric bills. The company may claim otherwise, but this simply looks bad from a consumer standpoint.
“I would also be curious to hear the Public Utility Commission’s (PUC’s) opinion of this arrangement, seeing as PPL is a fully-regulated utility.”
PPL Corp. is the parent company of both PPL Energy Plus and PPL Electric Utilities. A corporation spokesperson claims the arrangement is being made on behalf of PPL Energy Plus, a subsidiary which sells electricity to entities such as large commercial and municipal users and not the public part of the utility.
“While that statement may be true in theory, where is the $2 million per year going to come from?” asked Swanger, who has PPL customers in the Newmanstown portion of her district. “It, of course, is going to come from the pockets of Pennsylvanians who have already watched Governor Ed Rendell pour $47 million worth of state funding into this facility which will try to resurrect soccer in a market where it has failed miserably twice before.
“These are difficult economic times in which we live, and PPL customers will soon be getting their first electric bills since the rate caps came off. Few, if any of them, will benefit from a soccer stadium in suburban Philadelphia. Many if not all of them will be, and should be livid, if this deals is worked out,” she said.
Total cost of the stadium, which will be home to the Philadelphia Union soccer team, is estimated at $120 million. The facility will be situated in Chester near the Commodore Barry Bridge.
Rep. RoseMarie Swanger
102nd District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
(717) 277-2101
(717) 787-2686
Contact: Scott B. Little
slittle@pahousegop.com
(717) 260-6137
Member Site: RepSwanger.com
Caucus Site: PAHouseGOP.com