Piedmont Natural Gas Projects Lower Winter Heating Costs for 2009-2010 Season

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, [phone],





Web Site:  http://www.piedmontng.com/ 

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