Piedmont Natural Gas has filed to reduce its natural gas rates in North Carolina and South Carolina. The new rates, if approved by the respective state commissions, would go into effect on February 1, 2013 and would reduce current residential natural gas rates by a range of approximately 7.5 percent to 9.5 percent. The proposed rate reduction would also save the average Piedmont Natural Gas residential customer approximately $8 to $10 on their upcoming February natural gas bill.

Piedmont's request to lower its rates comes in response to continuing moderation in wholesale natural gas costs - the costs that Piedmont pays for the natural gas it delivers to its customers. Since 2008, the wholesale cost of natural gas has been driven dramatically lower as a result of increased natural gas production from domestic shale gas supply resources. For Piedmont's typical residential customer in North Carolina and South Carolina, the reduction in natural gas rates since 2008 has been between 30 percent and 40 percent. As a result, a normal February natural gas bill for a Piedmont Natural Gas residential customer in 2013 would be approximately $45 - $75 less than the same residential bill in 2008.

Tags: Piedmont Natural Gas