Piedmont Natural Gas Projects Lower Winter Heating Costs for 2009-2010 Season
October 05 2009 - 10:31AM
PR Newswire (US)
Residential customers in Company's three-state service area could
see reductions of between 10 to 20 percent in winter bills.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural
Gas (NYSE:PNY) today announced its annual forecast of winter
heating costs for customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and
Tennessee. Piedmont's forecast projects that its residential
customers could see a reduction in their overall winter heating
costs of between 10 and 20 percent compared to last year's winter
gas heating bill. For the typical residential customer, the
reductions could result in savings of $15 to $25 per month during
the winter period. Piedmont's forecast is based on current price
projections for the winter period and assumes normal winter
temperatures for the upcoming winter period. Last year, winter
temperatures across Piedmont's service area ranged from slightly
warmer than normal to as much as 7 percent colder than normal.
Because of the difference in temperatures across Piedmont's service
area, individual customer savings will vary. Colder weather than
forecast during the period could result in increased consumption of
natural gas and higher bills. While this year's forecast clearly
represents good news for customers, particularly in light of the
current economic climate, many individuals and families will
nonetheless need assistance with meeting their home energy needs
throughout the coming year. To help out, Piedmont Natural Gas
introduced its Share the Warmth Round Up Program in July and
announced a corporate gift of $100,000 to the effort. Under the
Share the Warmth Roundup program, Piedmont's customers can sign up
to have their monthly natural gas bills rounded up to the nearest
dollar. The amount rounded up goes to provide emergency energy
assistance funds which are distributed through various state and
local agencies in Piedmont's three-state service area. The funds
are used to provide emergency assistance regardless of the energy
source that is used in the home or the time of year in which the
need occurs, to individuals and families within the communities
Piedmont serves. For those customers who want to learn more about
Share the Warmth Round Up or to enroll in the program, they are
encouraged to visit Piedmont's website at
http://www.piedmontng.com/ and click on the Share the Warmth link.
Information about the various agencies that provide emergency
energy assistance through the Share the Warmth Round Up Program or
through the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program
(LIHEAP) can also be found there. In addition to details about the
Share the Warmth Round Up Program on the Company's website,
customers will also find helpful energy conservation tips,
information about customer self-services and a Carbon Calculator
that allows customers to determine their own home's carbon
footprint. Forward-looking Statements This press release contains
forward-looking statements. These statements are based on
management's current expectations and information currently
available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good
faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to
future events, risks, uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in
the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ
from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, new
legislation and regulations and application of existing laws and
regulations, economic and capital market conditions, the cost and
availability of natural gas, weather conditions and other
uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of
which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not
rely on these forward-looking statements when making investment
decisions. The words "expect," "believe," "project," "anticipate,"
"intend," "should," "could," "will," "assume," "can," "estimate,"
"forecast," "future," "indicate," "outlook," "plan," "predict,"
"seek," "target," "would," and variations of such words and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made
and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. More information about the risks and
uncertainties relating to these forward-looking statements may be
found in Piedmont's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q, which are available
on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/. 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 61,000 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. Additional information about Piedmont is available
on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com/. DATASOURCE: Piedmont
Natural Gas CONTACT: David Trusty of Piedmont Natural Gas,
+1-704-731-4391, Web Site: http://www.piedmontng.com/
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