Commonwealth v. Philadelphia Electric Co.

OPINION OF THE COURT

ROBERTS, Justice.

The issue presented is whether, under the Public Utility Realty Tax Act (PURTA), 1 the dam, dikes, and canal of the Muddy Run Pump Storage Hydro-Electric Project (Muddy Run Project) constitute taxable utility realty or excluded machinery or equipment. The Commonwealth Court concluded that the dam, dikes, and canal, owned by Philadelphia Electric Company (Philadelphia Electric), were taxable utility realty under PURTA. In our view, the stipulation of the parties establishes that the dam, dikes, and canal are machinery and equipment as previously defined by…