CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Piedmont
Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) released its annual winter forecast today
for residential customers in South Carolina. The Company is
projecting that monthly natural gas bills will on average be
$12 lower per month for Piedmont's typical South Carolina residential customer over the
coming five month November through March winter period.
Forecast Incorporates Normal Winter Weather, Other
Factors
The Company's forecast assumes 30-year average normal winter
weather for the November through March forecast period. In
stark contrast, last year's winter weather was approximately 10
percent colder than normal and was a primary factor in upping
customer consumption throughout Piedmont's South
Carolina service area which in turn led to higher monthly
natural gas bills for residential customers. From a regional
perspective, the United States Department of Energy's Energy
Information Agency (EIA) is projecting winter temperatures for the
upcoming winter to be nearly 11 percent warmer than normal
throughout the Southern Census Region in which South Carolina is included.
In addition to the impact of weather on monthly natural gas
bills, Piedmont also builds into
its forecast the potential impacts of various other factors, some
of which are offsetting, on its winter billing rates. These
other factors include potential changes to the Company's benchmark
cost of gas, regulatory adjustments to Piedmont's retail natural gas rates under the
Company's annual rate stabilization adjustment mechanism, and other
smaller rate adjustments.
Billing Rates Expected to Decrease
Over the forecast period, Piedmont projects that the retail billing
rates used to calculate monthly natural gas bills will average 8
percent lower than last year's winter period and 33 percent lower
than the winter period of 2008-2009, some 6 years ago. For
Piedmont's typical residential
natural gas customer in South
Carolina, the estimated cost of natural gas service this
winter will be approximately 30 percent lower than the cost of
natural gas service during the 2008-2009 winter period, an average
savings of approximately $205 in
energy costs.
Company Website a Resource for Energy Saving Tips for
Customers
For customers who want to learn more about energy savings tips,
Piedmont maintains a separate
section on its website devoted to educating customers about their
home's energy usage. Visiting www.piedmontng.com could help
customers better manage the natural gas they use this winter along
with their monthly energy bills. Many of the tips, such as turning
the thermostat down several degrees save energy and cost
nothing. Others like making sure windows and doors are
properly sealed only cost a few dollars. Still other steps,
like investing in a programmable thermostat or purchasing higher
efficiency natural gas equipment and appliances may cost a bit more
upfront but will end up saving the customer both energy and money
over the life of the equipment.
The Company's website also provides consumers with several
energy calculator tools designed to help customers see what energy
their home actually uses and how they can potentially reduce their
energy consumption and better manage their monthly bills.
Piedmont's "Share the Warmth
Round Up" Program Assists Others in the Community
Piedmont reminds its customers
that its "Share the Warmth Round Up" program offers customers an
easy way to help others in their communities who face economic
hardship. Customers may enroll in the program to round up their
monthly natural gas bills to the nearest dollar. The amount rounded
up provides emergency energy assistance funds to individuals and
families within the communities Piedmont serves, regardless of what energy is
used in the home or even what time of year the need arises.
Piedmont will contribute
$100,000 to the energy assistance
program this winter and, since 2003, has provided more than
$1.5 million to its Share the Warmth
partner agencies.
For those customers who want to learn more about the Share the
Warmth Round Up Program or to enroll in the program, they are
encouraged to visit Piedmont's
website at www.piedmontng.com.
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