Piedmont Natural Gas Files for Further Reductions in Natural Gas Rates in North Carolina and South Carolina

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) has filed for further reductions in its natural gas rates for customers in North Carolina and South Carolina.  Last week's filings before both the North Carolina Utilities Commission and the Public Service Commission of South Carolina reflect continuing declines in the Company's wholesale natural gas costs.  If approved by the respective commissions, the new rates would go into effect on February 1, 2012 with residential customers seeing a drop in their natural gas billing rates of 5 to 7 percent from current rates.  Monthly savings for the Company's residential customers in North Carolina and South Carolina would range another $4 to $6 per month over the remaining winter months of February and March. 

Thomas E. Skains, Piedmont's Chairman, President, and CEO said, "Our customers are clearly benefitting from the abundance of domestic natural gas supplies and the warmer than normal start to the winter heating season. This continues to be good news for all natural gas consumers and, in a larger sense, our nation's economy."

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 51,800 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

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