NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 28, 1999--Standard&Poor's today assigned its triple-'B' rating to Philadelphia Gas Works' (PGW) gas revenue bonds. The outlook is stable. The rating reflects the following weaknesses: -- Rate inflexibility due to historic problems getting rate relief from the Philadelphia Gas Commission, -- Poor liquidity due to high but improving levels of uncollectable accounts and the required annual city payment, -- Aggressive future projections which assume normal weather conditions that have not been realized in recent years, and -- An increased reliance on debt financing to support the capital program. These are offset by the following strengths: -- Sound legal provisions, which require, on an accrual basis, 1.50 times (x) coverage on the
