Piedmont Natural Gas cuts average residential bills in North and South Carolina

Under a plan newly approved by regulators in both North Carolina and South Carolina, the Duke Energy subsidiary Piedmont Natural Gas intends to reduce customer billing rates beginning this month.

For the average residential customer in North Carolina, these cuts should work out to around $14 per month, while in South Carolina, the reductions will be slightly less, at around $10 per month. In both cases, these savings were brought about by a decrease in the market cost of natural gas compared to the same time last year.

“Piedmont is continually working to keep costs as low as possible for our customers,” Sasha Weintraub, senior vice president and president of Piedmont Natural Gas, said. “We’re happy the downward trend in the cost of natural gas allows us to provide some relief during the winter months when increased usage driven by colder temperatures often results in higher bills.”

At the proposed rates, the average resident should save approximately $170 per year in North Carolina and $116 per year in South Carolina. Nothing is truly final yet, though – winter’s chill affects natural gas usage. So, customers could see even higher bill reductions depending on different factors: North Carolina customers were told to expect up to a $27 per month reduction in winter bills, and South Carolina residents up to $18 per month.