Piedmont files with South Carolina Public Service Commission to update rates
Piedmont Natural Gas filed a request with the South Carolina Public Service Commission to update its operating costs and billing rates and recover recent capital investments.
If approved, the typical residential customer in South Carolina would pay, on average, about $4 more per month, or $46 more per year. The rates will go into effect by Oct. 1.
“We work to keep costs as low as possible while continuing to reliably and safely serve our customers,” Sasha Weintraub, Piedmont Natural Gas senior vice president and president, said. “These investments are critical to strengthening and modernizing our system to meet the service needs of our customers and growing communities.”
The capital investments have allowed the company to comply with federal regulations, build needed infrastructure, and provide safe, reliable, and affordable natural gas to customers. The overall revenue increase allocated to Piedmont’s customer groups – residential, commercial, and industrial – is 3.4 percent.
“Many of these investments were required for us to safely operate in our communities, but we know some customers may be facing economic hardships that can make any price increase challenging,” Weintraub said. “There are a variety of ways customers can manage their bills through assistance programs, the equal payment plan program, and using energy saving tools.”
Piedmont offers several programs to help customers meet energy costs and save energy.
Piedmont — a subsidiary of Duke Energy — distributes natural gas to more than 1.1 million residential, commercial, industrial, and power generation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.
