CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont
Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) today announced that it has reached
agreement with the United States Department of Defense (DOD) to
purchase, expand and operate the natural gas pipeline distribution
system serving Fort Bragg near
Fayetteville, North
Carolina. The agreement follows a trend of public/private
partnerships that serve to privatize utility infrastructure located
on U.S. military bases across the country. The agreement and its
associated tariffs have been filed with the North Carolina
Utilities Commission for approval.
Piedmont Natural Gas Chairman, President, and CEO, Thomas E. Skains, commented on the agreement,
"We are pleased to have reached this agreement with the DOD to
acquire and improve the natural gas distribution systems at
Fort Bragg. We look forward to
providing safe and reliable natural gas service to the important
members of this community for many years to come. We are
especially honored to serve the men and women of our armed services
with the benefits of comfortable, affordable and clean-burning
natural gas."
Greg Bean, Fort Bragg's Director of Public Works, said,
"We are pleased to have a world-class partner in Piedmont Natural
Gas, to help meet the readiness needs of one of the U.S. military's
most important strategic installations."
Piedmont currently owns,
operates, and maintains approximately eight miles of natural gas
pipelines used to serve residential and commercial buildings on the
base. The new agreement transfers ownership and operational
responsibility to upgrade and maintain an additional 75 miles of
existing natural gas pipeline facilities on Fort Bragg property after an initial
transition period of approximately two and a half years.
During the transition period, Piedmont will be reviewing system operations
and service requirements, enhancing existing facilities, and
constructing new pipeline infrastructure to ensure the continued
safe, reliable, and efficient operation of the natural gas pipeline
distribution system.
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 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