- Agreement supports significant investments for safety,
reliability, customer growth
- Request included rate reductions for natural gas costs and
income tax payment credits passed to customers
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Sept. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas has reached
a comprehensive agreement with consumer and industrial groups in
North Carolina related to its rate
review request, filed in April of this year.
Piedmont plans to implement the
increase in November 2024.
Piedmont also requested concurrent
rate reductions for pass-through natural gas costs and to
accelerate the flowback to customers of the remaining eligible
balance of excess deferred income taxes, which will help mitigate
the overall impact to customer bills. The average residential
customer in North Carolina will
pay about $7.50 more per month, or
$90 more per year.
"We appreciate the consideration the Public Staff and all other
parties have shown toward our customers and Piedmont's business needs," said Brian Weisker, senior vice president and
president of Piedmont Natural Gas. "Raising rates is never a
decision we take lightly, particularly during challenging economic
times. These investments in strengthening and enhancing our natural
gas delivery system will help ensure we continue to provide safe,
reliable service to our customers while meeting the rising demand
for natural gas throughout our North
Carolina footprint."
The agreement is subject to the review and approval of the North
Carolina Utilities Commission. If the agreement is approved, the
net annual increase in revenues for Piedmont will be approximately $88 million, about 40% less than the $149 million Piedmont originally requested to recover its
prudently incurred costs to comply with federal safety regulations,
enhance the customer experience, build needed infrastructure and
provide safe, reliable natural gas service to meet the energy
demands of more than 810,000 customers in North Carolina.
The agreement was developed in collaboration with the Public
Staff of the North Carolina Utilities Commission, which represents
the interests of consumers, the Carolina Utility Customers
Association, and the Carolina Industrial Group for Fair Utility
Rates IV.
The agreement allows Piedmont Natural Gas a return on equity of
9.80%.
The stipulated rates also impact commercial and industrial
customers. To learn more about Piedmont's proposed rate increase, visit
piedmontng.com/rates.
Level out your bill with the Equal Payment Plan (EPP)
program
Piedmont's free EPP program
helps customers manage their budgets by leveling out a customer's
natural gas bills, allowing them to pay a predictable, equal
monthly amount to help avoid billing surprises. Piedmont determines this payment by adding up
a customer's annual natural gas usage and then dividing it into the
same payment amount each month. Learn more here.
Energy-saving tips and tools
Piedmont Natural Gas also offers a variety of energy-saving
tips and tools to help customers and our communities identify
ways to save money and energy all year long. These programs and
tools help customers understand what factors are impacting their
natural gas bills and emphasize specific actions they can take to
prepare and reduce the impacts of higher usage.
Assistance for customers in need
Share the Warmth provides funds to local agencies to assist
families with their utility bills, no matter the source of energy
they use. Contact information for approved assistance agencies
across Piedmont's service area is
available at piedmontng.com/ShareTheWarmth.
The Low Income Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) provides
assistance to pay for natural gas, electric and other energy
sources customers use in their homes.
Piedmont says anyone in need
should apply for this and other newly available programs to see if
they qualify. For more information, go to
piedmontng.com/AssistancePrograms.
Piedmont Natural Gas
Piedmont Natural Gas, a
subsidiary of Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), distributes natural gas to
more than 1.2 million residential, commercial, industrial and power
generation customers in North
Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee. Piedmont Natural
Gas earned the No. 1 spot in customer satisfaction with residential
natural gas service in the South among large utilities, according
to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Gas Utility Residential Customer
Satisfaction Study. More information: piedmontng.com. Follow
Piedmont Natural Gas: X, Facebook.
Media contact: Jason Wheatley
Media line: 877.348.3612
jason.wheatley@duke-energy.com
X: @PNG_JasonW
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SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas