Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas select Dominion to build 550-mile 'Atlantic Coast Pipeline' to transport natural gas from West Virginia to eastern North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Duke Energy and Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced the selection of Dominion to build and operate a 550-mile interstate natural gas pipeline from West Virginia, through Virginia and into eastern North Carolina to meet the region's rapidly growing demand for natural gas.

Called the "Atlantic Coast Pipeline," it also is expected to serve as a key infrastructure engine to drive economic development and create jobs, helping counties on the pipeline's route attract new, energy-dependent businesses and industries – especially along the Interstate 95 corridor in eastern North Carolina.

Duke Energy and Piedmont selected Dominion's project after reviewing submittals by five companies in response to an April 2014 solicitation for proposals to build North Carolina's second major interstate natural gas pipeline.

The pipeline has an estimated cost of between $4.5 billion and $5 billion, an initial capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, and a target in-service date of late 2018.

The project will require Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, which Dominion will seek to secure by summer 2016.

The pipeline's main customers are six utilities and related companies that collectively will purchase a substantial majority of the pipeline's capacity to transport natural gas – Duke Energy Carolinas, Duke Energy Progress, Virginia Power Services Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Virginia Natural Gas, and PSNC Energy.

The purchases will be made through 20-year contracts, subject to state regulatory approval. The pipeline's owners are negotiating with other potential customers, as well.

Gas will be carried through a 42-inch-diameter pipe in West Virginia and Virginia, and a 36-inch-diameter pipe in North Carolina.

Four regional owners
In addition to its role as builder and operator, Dominion will be one of the pipeline's four owners – all based in the Mid-Atlantic or Southeast U.S.:

Dominion – 45 percent ownership.
Duke Energy – 40 percent ownership.
Piedmont Natural Gas – 10 percent ownership.
AGL Resources – 5 percent ownership.

In a joint statement, the four companies' CEOs – Dominion's Thomas Farrell, Duke Energy's Lynn Good, Piedmont's Thomas Skains and AGL Resources' John Somerhalder – said the pipeline represents a major step forward for the region's energy security, economic future and carbon reduction:

"The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a transformational project for our region.  It will create thousands of construction jobs during development and significant new revenue for state and local governments throughout North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.   The expanded source of gas will also help fuel economic development across the region as businesses and homes rely more on natural gas." 

"Natural gas is increasingly important for advanced electricity generation, contributing to significantly lower greenhouse gas and other emissions.  The project will also provide more reliable access to new sources of natural gas, keeping consumers' energy costs down – even during the coldest and hottest weather." 

Piedmont plans to make additional utility investment
In conjunction with its investment in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Piedmont Natural Gas plans to make additional utility capital investments in its natural gas delivery system of approximately $190 million in order to redeliver Atlantic Coast Pipeline gas supplies to local North Carolina markets the company serves.

Natural gas' growing role in North Carolina
North Carolina currently is served primarily by only one major interstate natural gas pipeline which traverses the state's western and central regions, transporting natural gas largely from the Gulf of Mexico.

To enhance reliability and energy security, Duke Energy's and Piedmont's solicitation sought proposals for a new, second natural gas pipeline that would transport additional large-scale supplies – from different sources – into the state.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will meet those objectives by roughly paralleling the Interstate 95 corridor in eastern North Carolina, and transporting gas from a different natural gas source – the Utica and Marcellus shale basins located largely in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.  

Duke Energy increasingly relies on natural gas to generate electricity after closing half of its 14 coal-fired power plants in North Carolina during the past three years.

The company has opened five natural gas-fired power plants in North Carolina since 2011 to replace those coal plants, and plans to open a natural gas power plant in South Carolina in 2017. 

Piedmont Natural Gas' residential, commercial and industrial customer demand for natural gas also continues to grow. Additionally, Piedmont is a major retail transporter of natural gas to power plants operated by Duke Energy and other electric utilities.

Last winter's extremely cold temperatures – which resulted in high demand and high prices for natural gas across much of the U.S. – underscored the national need for more natural gas pipelines.

Pipeline route
The pipeline will begin in Harrison County, W.Va., at an existing natural gas transmission facility, then travel southeast through four other West Virginia counties and 13 Virginia counties before entering North Carolina.

A separate, 70-mile extension pipeline will split off from the main pipeline at the Virginia-North Carolina border, traveling eastward through southeast Virginia to that state's Hampton Roads region, which includes Norfolk and other cities served by Virginia Natural Gas, an AGL Resources subsidiary.

In North Carolina, the pipeline will enter the state in Northampton County, travel southwest through six other counties, then terminate in Robeson County at existing Piedmont Natural Gas transmission facilities.

Dominion is conducting land surveys along the proposed pipeline route. It will determine the final route based on landowner input; community meetings in counties on the route; consultation with government agencies and other interested stakeholders; and an environmental, historical and cultural impact assessment.

Dominion will build and operate the pipeline through a services agreement with its Dominion Transmission subsidiary, which will oversee siting, permitting, engineering and legal issues.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline website and route map – www.dom.com/acpipeline

Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company, primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation utility customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, and regulated interstate natural gas transportation and storage, and regulated intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com/.

Duke Energy
Duke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with approximately $115 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com.

Dominion Resources
Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,600 megawatts of generation, 10,900 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 10 states. For more information about Dominion, visit www.dom.com.

AGL Resources
AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS) is an Atlanta-based energy services holding company with operations in natural gas distribution, retail operations, wholesale services and midstream operations. AGL Resources serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries in seven states. The company also serves approximately 630,000 retail energy customers and approximately 1.2 million customer service contracts through its SouthStar Energy Services joint venture and Pivotal Home Solutions, which market natural gas and related home services. Other non-utility businesses include asset management for natural gas wholesale customers through Sequent Energy Management and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. AGL Resources is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, weather conditions, rate of customer growth, the cost and availability of natural gas, competition from other energy providers, new legislation and regulations and application of existing laws and regulations, economic and capital market conditions, the cost and availability of labor and materials and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The words "expect," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "if," "likely," "intend," "should," "could," "assume," "can," "estimate," "forecast," "future," "indicate," "outlook," "plan," "predict," "seek," "target," "would," "may," "guidance," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be found in Piedmont's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q and in Duke Energy's and its subsidiaries' reports filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas

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