CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont Natural
Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced that Piedmont's utility operations center in
Hickory, N.C., has received
the STAR safety award recognizing its commitment to on-the-job
safety from the federal Occupational Safety & Health
Administration (OSHA) and the N.C. Department of Labor.
This is the second OSHA-sponsored safety award for Piedmont
Natural Gas, whose utility operations center in Anderson, S.C., was awarded the Safety and
Health Recognition Program (SHARP) designation in early 2010 by the
South Carolina division of OSHA.
The 2010 award was the first-ever designation for any natural gas
local distribution company.
N.C. Commissioner of Labor Cherie K. Berry presented the STAR
award today at a news conference at Piedmont's Hickory operations center. In addition to
remarks from Commissioner Berry, Piedmont employees heard from company leaders
as well as Danny Hearn of the
Catawba County Chamber of Commerce
and Scott Millar of the Catawba
County Economic Development Commission.
"Piedmont Natural Gas is serious about providing safe and
reliable natural gas to the homes and businesses of Hickory," said Barry
Stevenson, operations supervisor for regional utility
operations for Piedmont Natural Gas. "We are honored to have earned
this award in recognition of our efforts, and we're grateful for
the message it sends to our customers, our communities and our
employees."
The STAR award and its S.C. counterpart SHARP award are part of
a Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) from OSHA. Awards are
administered by the state where operations are based. Employers who
qualify must complete a rigorous application and evaluation process
to prove their commitment to on-the-job safety. Learn more about
North Carolina's program at
http://www.nclabor.com/osha/star/star.htm.
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 52,000 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 at
http://www.piedmontng.com.
SOURCE Piedmont Natural Gas