UIL boss promises decision soon on PGW pursuit

The head of UIL Holdings Corp. said Wednesday that his company had not had any "substantive" talks with Philadelphia City Council since President Darrell L. Clarke scuttled a $1.86 billion deal to sell the Philadelphia Gas Works to UIL.

James P. Torgerson, UIL's chief executive, told analysts during a conference call Wednesday that the Connecticut company was taking a "measured" approach to Council's rejection.

"We're going to see how things go over the next few days, and then we'll make some decisions on that," Torgerson said during the call with investment analysts to review UIL's third-quarter earnings report.

"We wanted to, you know, take a measured approach to this, and not just react to the announcement that City Council put out. So we have people on the ground who are talking to various folks. We will be making a decision in the not-too-distant future."

Torgerson offered few insights on the imperiled deal, which Mayor Nutter and his allies still hope to salvage.

Clarke announced Oct. 27 that Council had no appetite to hold hearings or a vote on the deal, which Nutter announced March 3. Council approval is necessary for the sale to move forward.

UIL reported it has spent $21.3 million so far on costs related to the deal.

UIL, which operates four New England utilities, including its flagship United Illuminating Co. in New Haven, was the high bidder in an auction brokered by investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co.