As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 20, 1997
                                                Registration No. 333-__________*
================================================================================

                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                              Washington D.C. 20549
                         ------------------------------
                                    FORM S-8
                             REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                      UNDER
                           THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933


                         PENNSYLVANIA ENTERPRISES, INC.
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



           Pennsylvania                             23-1920170
 ---------------------------------        ------------------------------------
 (State or other jurisdiction of          (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)
  incorporation or organization)


                                 One PEI Center
                      Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania 18711-0601
                     ---------------------------------------
                       (Address of registrant's principal
                               executive offices)



                             1992 Stock Option Plan
                             ----------------------
                            (Full title of the Plan)


           Thomas J. Ward, Secretary                      Copy to:
         Pennsylvania Enterprises, Inc.            Garett J. Albert, Esq.
                 One PEI Center                   Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP
           Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania              One Battery Park Plaza
                   18711-0601                     New York, New York 10004
                 (717) 829-8812
     (Name and address and telephone number
             of agent for service)



                         Calculation of Registration Fee

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Proposed
                                       Proposed         maximum
                         Amount         maximum        aggregate     Amount of
   Title of Shares        to be      offering price     offering    registration
  to be registered     registered      per unit**       price**         fee
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                                               
Common Stock, no par   190,600 shares  $19,8165      $3,777,025      $1,144.55
value, stated value          
$5 per share

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------



- ----------

*    On March 20, 1997, the Registrant  effected a two-for-one  stock split with
     respect  to its Common  Stock,  no par  value,  stated  value $10 per share
     ("Prior Common Stock"). Through March 19, 1997, a total of 24,400 shares of
     Prior Common Stock had been issued under the Plan.  The  Registrant  has on
     file with the Securities and Exchange Commission Registration Statement No.
     33-62892   which  relates  to  the  issuance  of  200,000   shares  of  the
     Registrant's  Prior Common Stock under the  Registrant's  1992 Stock Option
     Plan  and  Registration  Statement  No.  333-12827,  which  relates  to the
     issuance of 15,000 shares of the Registrant's  Prior Common Stock under the
     Registrant's  1992  Stock  Option  Plan.  Pursuant  to Rule 429  under  the
     Securities  Act of 1933,  as  amended,  the  documents  that are  deemed to
     constitute the prospectus  under this  Registration  Statement will also be
     used in connection  with  securities  covered by such earlier  registration
     statement.

**   Calculated  with respect to 190,200 of the shares of Common Stock for which
     options have been issued  pursuant to Rule  457(h)(1) of the Securities Act
     of 1933, as amended,  based on the prices at which the options with respect
     to these shares may be exercised and calculated  with respect to 400 of the
     shares of Common Stock for which  options have not been issued  pursuant to
     Rule 457(c) of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, based on the average
     of the high and low prices for Prior Common Stock  reported on the New York
     Stock Exchange on March 14, 1997.





                                     PART II
                INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATMENT


Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference
         ---------------------------------------

            Pennsylvania Enterprises,  Inc., ("the Company") hereby incorporates
by  reference  in  this  Registration  Statement  the  following  documents  and
information  heretofore filed with the Commission under the Securities  Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act") (File No.
0-7812):

            (a)   The Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
      year ended December 31, 1996; and

            (b) The  description of the Company's  Common Stock contained in the
      Company's registration statements on Form 8-A therefor filed under Section
      12 of the Exchange  Act,  including  any amendment or report filed for the
      purpose of updating such description.

            All documents filed by the Company pursuant to Section 13(a), 13(c),
14 or 15(d) of the  Exchange Act after the date of this  Registration  Statement
and prior to the filing of a  post-effective  amendment which indicates that all
securities  offered  hereby have been sold or which  deregisters  all securities
then remaining  unsold shall be deemed to be  incorporated  by reference in this
Registration  Statement  and to be a part  hereof from the  respective  dates of
filing of such documents.


Item 4.  Description of Securities
         -------------------------

            Not applicable.


Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel
         --------------------------------------

            Not applicable.


Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers
         -----------------------------------------

            Sections 1741 through 1750 of Subchapter D of Chapter 17 of the PBCL
contain,  among  other  things,   provisions  for  mandatory  and  discretionary
indemnification of a corporation's directors, officers and other personnel.

            Under  Section  1741,  unless  otherwise  limited by its by-laws,  a
corporation  has the power to indemnify  directors  and officers  under  certain
prescribed   circumstances   against  expenses   (including   attorney's  fees),
judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred
in connection  with a  threatened,  pending or completed  action or  proceeding,
whether civil,  criminal,  administrative or investigative (other than an action
by or in the  right  of the  corporation),  to  which  any of them is a party or



threatened to be made a party by reason of his being a representative,  director
or officer of the  corporation or serving at the request of the corporation as a
representative  of  another  domestic  or  foreign  corporation  for  profit  or
not-for-profit,  partnership,  joint venture,  trust or other enterprise,  if he
acted in good  faith and in a manner  he  reasonably  believed  to be in, or not
opposed to, the best  interests  of the  corporation  and,  with  respect to any
criminal  proceeding,  had no  reasonable  cause  to  believe  his  conduct  was
unlawful.  The  termination  of any action or  proceeding  by  judgment,  order,
settlement  or conviction  or upon a plea of nolo  contendere or its  equivalent
does not of itself  create a  presumption  that the  person  did not act in good
faith and in a manner that he  reasonably  believed to be in, or not opposed to,
the  best  interests  of the  corporation  and,  with  respect  to any  criminal
proceeding, had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was unlawful.

            Section 1742 provides for indemnification with respect to derivative
and  corporate  actions  similar  to that  provided  by Section  1741.  However,
indemnification  is not provided  under  Section 1742 with respect to any claim,
issue or matter as to which a director or officer has been adjudged to be liable
to the  corporation  unless  and  only  to the  extent  that  the  proper  court
determines upon application  that,  despite the adjudication of liability but in
view of all the  circumstances  of the case, a director or officer is fairly and
reasonably entitled to indemnity for the expenses that the court deems proper.

            Section  1743  provides  that  indemnification  against  expenses is
mandatory to the extent that the director or officer has been  successful on the
merits or otherwise in defense of any such action or  proceeding  referred to in
Section 1741 or 1742.

            Section  1744  provides  that  unless   ordered  by  a  court,   any
indemnification  under Section 1741 or 1742 shall be made by the  corporation as
authorized in the specific case upon a  determination  that  indemnification  of
directors  and  officers  is proper  because  the  director  or officer  met the
applicable standard of conduct, and such determination will be made by the board
of  directors  by a majority  vote of a quorum of  directors  not parties to the
action or  proceeding;  if a quorum is not  obtainable  or if  obtainable  and a
majority of disinterested  directors so directs, by independent legal counsel or
by the shareholders.

            Section  1745  provides  that  expenses  incurred  by a director  or
officer in defending any action or proceeding  referred to in the Subchapter may
be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action or
proceeding  upon receipt of an  undertaking  by or on behalf of such director or
officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that he is not
entitled to be indemnified by the corporation.

            Section 1746  provides  generally  that except in any case where the
act or failure to act giving rise to the claim for indemnification is determined
by  a  court  to  have  constituted  willful  misconduct  or  recklessness,  the
indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by the Subchapter shall not
be deemed  exclusive of any other rights to which a director or officer  seeking
indemnification  or  advancement  of expenses may be entitled  under any by-law,
agreement, vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise, both as
to action in his official  capacity and as to action in another  capacity  while
holding that office.

            Section  1747 also grants a  corporation  the power to purchase  and
maintain  insurance on behalf of any director or officer  against any  liability



incurred  by him in his  capacity  as  officer or  director,  whether or not the
corporation  would have the power to indemnify him against the  liability  under
this Subchapter of the PBCL.

            Sections 1748 and 1749 apply the  indemnification and advancement of
expenses  provisions  contained  in the  Subchapter  to  successor  corporations
resulting  from   consolidation,   merger  or  division  and  to  service  as  a
representative of such corporations or of employee benefit plans.

            Section 1750 provides that the  indemnification  and  advancement of
expenses  granted pursuant to this  Subchapter,  unless otherwise  provided when
authorized  or  ratified,  continue  as  to a  person  who  has  ceased  to be a
representative  of the  corporation  and shall inure to the benefit of the heirs
and personal representatives of that person.

            Article II,  Section 15 of the Company's  By-Laws,  provides that to
the fullest  extent  that the PBCL  permits  elimination  or  limitation  of the
liability of  directors,  no director  shall be  personally  liable for monetary
damages as such for any action  taken,  or any failure to take any action,  as a
director.

            Article VII,  Section 1 of the Company's  By-Laws  provides that the
Company  shall  indemnify  its  directors  and  officers to the  fullest  extent
permitted by the PBCL.  Persons who are not directors or officers of the Company
may be similarly  indemnified in respect of service to the Company or to another
such entity at the  request of the Company to the extent the Board of  Directors
at any time  designates  such person as being  entitled to the  benefits of such
indemnity.

            The Company has purchased  director and officer liability  insurance
for its directors and officers.


Item 7.  Exemption from Registration Claimed
         -----------------------------------

            Not applicable.


Item 8.  Exhibits
         --------

            The  following  exhibits  are  filed  herewith  or  incorporated  by
reference.  The reference numbers correspond to the numbered  paragraphs of Item
601 of Regulation S-K.



       
4-1       Restated Articles of Incorporation of the Company, as amended.

4-2       By-Laws of the  Company,  as amended and  restated -- filed as Exhibit
          3-2 to the  Company's  Annual  Report on Form 10-K for 1994,  File No.
          0-7812.

4-3       Rights  Agreement  dated as of April 26, 1995  between the Company and
          Chemical  Bank,  as  Rights  Agent  --  filed  as  Exhibit  4-1 to the
          Company's  Quarterly  Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter  ended March
          31, 1995, File No. 0-7812.

5-1       Opinion of Moses & Gelso,  L.L.P. as to the legality of the securities
          being registered.



23-1      Consent of Moses & Gelso, L.L.P. (included in Exhibit 5-1).

23-2      Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP



Item 9.  Undertakings
         ------------

          (a) The Registrant hereby undertakes:

               (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
          made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

                      (i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3)
               of the Securities Act of 1933;

                     (ii) To reflect  in the  prospectus  any  facts  or  events
               arising after the effective  date of the  Registration  Statement
               (or the most  recent  post-effective  amendment  thereof)  which,
               individually or in the aggregate,  represent a fundamental change
               in the information set forth in the Registration Statement;

                    (iii) To include any  material  information  with respect to
               the  plan  of  distribution  not  previously   disclosed  in  the
               Registration Statement or any material change to such information
               in the Registration Statement;

            Provided,  however,  that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not
apply  if the  Registration  Statement  is on  Form  S-3 or  Form  S-8,  and the
information  required  to be  included in a  post-effective  amendment  by those
paragraphs is contained in periodic reports filed by the registrant  pursuant to
section  13 or section  15(d) of the  Securities  Exchange  Act of 1934 that are
incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

               (2) That, for the purpose of determining  any liability under the
          Securities Act of 1933,  each such  post-effective  amendment shall be
          deemed to be a new registration  statement  relating to the securities
          offered  therein,  and the  offering of such  securities  at that time
          shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

               (3) To  remove  from  registration  by means of a  post-effective
          amendment any of the securities  being  registered which remain unsold
          at the termination of the offering.

          (b) The Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining
any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the  registrant's
annual  report  pursuant  to Section  13(a) or Section  15(d) of the  Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable,  each filing of an employee benefit
plan's annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934) that is incorporated by reference in the  Registration  Statement shall be
deemed to be a new  registration  statement  relating to the securities  offered
therein,  and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be
the initial bona fide offering thereof.

          (c)  Insofar as  indemnification  for  liabilities  arising  under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors,  officers and  controlling
persons of the registrant  pursuant to the foregoing  provisions,  or otherwise,
the  registrant  has been  advised  that in the  opinion of the  Securities  and
Exchange  Commission such  indemnification is against public policy as expressed
in the Act and is,  therefore,  unenforceable.  In the  event  that a claim  for
indemnification  against  such  liabilities  (other  than  the  payment  by  the
registrant of expenses  incurred or paid by a director,  officer or  controlling
person of the  registrant  in the  successful  defense  of any  action,  suit or
proceeding)  is  asserted by such  director,  officer or  controlling  person in
connection with the securities being registered,  the registrant will, unless in
the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent,
submit  to a  court  of  appropriate  jurisdiction  the  question  whether  such
indemnification  by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will
be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.




                                  SIGNATURES

          The Registrant.  Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of
1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it
meets all of the  requirements  for filing on Form S-8 and has duly  caused this
Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned,  thereunto
duly authorized in the City of Wilkes-Barre,  Commonwealth of  Pennsylvania,  on
the 20th day of March, 1997.

                              PENNSYLVANIA ENTERPRISES, INC.


                              By:  /s/ John F. Kell, Jr.
                                   ----------------------------------
                                   (John F. Kell, Jr.) Vice
                                   President, Financial Services


            Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Act of 1933,  this
Registration  Statement  has  been  signed  by  the  following  persons  in  the
capacities and on the dates indicated:




          Signature               Title                     Date
          ---------               -----                     ----
                                                      

(i) Principal Executive Officer:


      /s/ Thomas F. Karam         President, Chief          March 20, 1997
      -------------------------   Executive Officer and
      (Thomas F. Karam)           Director
   


(ii) Principal Financial and Accounting Officer:

      /s/ John F. Kell, Jr.       Vice President,           March 20, 1997
      -------------------------   Financial Services
     (John F. Kell, Jr.)             


(iii) A Majority of the Board of Directors:

      /s/ Kenneth L. Pollock      Chairman of the           March 20, 1997
      -------------------------   Board of Directors
     (Kenneth L. Pollock)         


      /s/ William D. Davis        Vice Chairman of the      March 20, 1997
      -------------------------   Board of Directors
     (William D. Davis)           


      /s/ Robert J. Keating       Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (Robert J. Keating)




      /s/ James A. Ross           Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (James A. Ross)


      /s/ John D. McCarthy        Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (John D. McCarthy)


      /s/ Ronald W. Simms         Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (Ronald W. Simms)


      /s/ Kenneth M. Pollock      Director                  March 20, 1997
      ------------------------- 
     (Kenneth M. Pollock)


      /s/ Paul R. Freeman         Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (Paul R. Freeman)


      /s/ John D. McCarthy, Jr.   Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (John D. McCarthy, Jr.)


      /s/ Richard A. Rose, Jr.    Director                  March 20, 1997
      -------------------------
     (Richard A. Rose, Jr.)





                                INDEX TO EXHIBITS





Exhibit                                                          Sequentially
Number         Description                                       Numbered Page

                                                           
4-1            Restated  Articles of  Incorporation of the
               Company, as amended.

4-2            By-Laws  of the  Company,  as  amended  and
               restated  --  filed as  Exhibit  3-2 of the
               Company's  Annual  Report  on Form 10-K for
               1994, File No. 0-7812.

4-3            Rights Agreement dated as of April 26, 1995
               between the Company and Chemical  Bank,  as
               Rights Agent -- filed as Exhibit 4-1 to the
               Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for
               the quarter ended March 31, 1995,  File No.
               0-7812.

5-1            Opinion of Moses & Gelso,  L.L.P. as to the
               legality of the securities being registered

23-1           Consent of Moses & Gelso, L.L.P.  (included
               in Exhibit 5-1)

23-2           Consent of Arthur Andersen LLP