CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas
(NYSE: PNY) filed for and has received regulatory approval to lower its rates
for customers in North Carolina and South Carolina effective January 1, 2007.
Piedmont filed for expedited approval of the rate decreases on December 28th
with both the North Carolina Utilities Commission and the Public Service
Commission of South Carolina as a result of the falling wholesale cost of
natural gas.
In its filings, Piedmont requested that the benchmark wholesale cost of
gas included in its rates be reduced to $7.50/dekatherm for customers in the
two states. The wholesale cost of gas, as represented by the benchmark,
typically makes up 65% - 75% of a typical residential customer's monthly
winter heating bill and is passed through to customers with no additional
mark-up. In recent years, the wholesale cost of gas has been subject to wide
swings, up and down, due to the very tight balance between natural gas supply
and demand. For Piedmont's typical residential customer in North Carolina and
South Carolina, the new rates will mean an average decrease of approximately
$10 - $20 per month during winter billing months.
Commenting on the filing, Piedmont's Senior Vice President of Commercial
Operations, Franklin H. Yoho said, "This is certainly welcome news for our
customers and is warranted by the falling wholesale cost of natural gas. But,
we have to remember that wholesale natural gas prices are volatile and can
change based on weather conditions and ongoing tightness in supply and demand.
Market prices could certainly go back up as we progress through the winter."
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 and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina
and Tennessee, including 62,000 customers served by municipalities who are
wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-
related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing,
interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More
information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at
http://www.piedmontng.com.
SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas
CONTACT: David Trusty of Piedmont Natural Gas, +1-704-731-4391
