Piedmont Natural Gas Files for Upward Adjustment in Natural Gas Cost Portion of Customer Rates in North Carolina and South Carolina

Gas costs, rates would remain significantly less than those in effect five years ago

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Apr 17, 2013, 02:00 ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C., April 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced it has filed to adjust upward the wholesale natural gas cost component of its rates for customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. Wholesale natural gas costs are passed through to customers on a dollar for dollar basis, without markup, and reflect what Piedmont actually pays for the natural gas supplies it delivers to customers.

If approved by the respective state utility commissions, the new rates would be effective May 1, 2013 and would result in residential billing rates that still range between 28 percent and 38 percent less than those in effect 5 years ago in 2008. Piedmont last requested an adjustment to its wholesale natural gas cost component in February, 2013, when it filed for a reduction in both states.

For the average residential customer of Piedmont Natural Gas in North Carolina and South Carolina, the proposed rates would increase their monthly natural gas bill by approximately $3.50 to $4.75 per month over the coming summer period of May through October.

About 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 52,400 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 intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com/.

SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas