Peoples Gas at 175: Proud of its Past, Focused on the Future

Maria Bocanegra, President - Peoples Gas

This year, Peoples Gas is celebrating its 175th anniversary. On Sept. 4, 1850, the company became Chicago's first utility when gas started flowing beneath Lake Street to power lamps. In that era, a team of lamplighters traveled throughout the growing city, manually lighting each gas lamp, illuminating Chicago with the new technology.

Today, Peoples Gas delivers energy across Chicago's 77 distinct neighborhoods and has technologies that include renewable natural gas, zero-carbon hydrogen, pipes made of high-tech materials and ultraefficient gas heat pumps.

Two things remain unchanged over the past 175 years at Peoples Gas - providing safe and reliable service, and a focus on the future.

A meeting of the eras

Chicago's past, present and future are intertwined with the work of Peoples Gas. Such a parallel was perhaps never made clearer than this April, when our union construction crews unearthed and officially retired a section of gas main that served Chicago's downtown for 164 years. The pipe section was originally installed in 1861, the year Abraham Lincoln became president.

The pipe's removal is part of our larger effort to retire all of Chicago's aging iron natural gas mains nearing the end of their useful lives. The old mains are being replaced with modern pipes made of high-tech plastic that better weathers Chicago's freeze-and-thaw cycles, and is less prone to leaks.

Eyes on a bright, sustainable future

Chicago's modernized energy system also will ensure ongoing delivery of decarbonized energy such as renewable natural gas. This energy is in the Peoples Gas system today thanks to our partnership with a community-oriented energy producer on the city's south side. The Green Era campus creates renewable natural gas by diverting food waste from landfills. This prevents carbon from hitting the atmosphere.

The new pipes we install also position Chicago for hydrogen to eventually be blended into the energy mix. Peoples Gas recently tested hydrogen at our training facility. Hydrogen emits no carbon dioxide when used for heat, cooking and industrial processes.

Driving ultraefficiency

As we celebrate the past, we are looking to the future by helping customers decarbonize downstream energy use. Peoples Gas recently unveiled a gas heat pump system now available for residential use. The system can immediately reduce a home's carbon emissions by 50%. The reduced energy use translates to lower heating bills. Crucially, the system is compatible with existing natural gas hookups. This brings reliable and actionable decarbonization solutions to Chicago.

We're also working with business customers to reduce energy usage, lower emissions, improve their operations and drive sustainability. Through our work applying innovative technologies to business processes, customers have received more than $55 million in rebates, reduced energy use by more than 62 million therms, and prevented more than 327,000 tons of carbon emissions.

These partnerships help drive Chicago's workforce. They've created more than 470 local jobs supporting cost-saving and energy-reducing upgrades.

A focus on people

Even in the age of artificial intelligence, the work of Peoples Gas will be driven by good old fashioned… people. Our work, literally, is "hands on." That means developing the talents of community members is critical. We're creating innovative workforce development pipelines to meet this need and provide jobs:

• Bright Futures U is a partnership with Chicago Public Schools through which we just hired nine high school graduates and plan to hire six more this year.
• Our Project Worker to Utility Worker program is an intensive 12-week training regime that upskills seasonal workers into full-time, union employees.
• Our Utility Worker Military Assistance Program prepares veterans for career-track jobs.

One key to having a long history, and being able to look back and be proud of it, is to always be looking ahead. For our customers and our community, Peoples Gas will keep doing that.

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