Piedmont Natural Gas customers in North Carolina to see slight drop on bills
The North Carolina Utilities Commission has approved a third benchmark price cut for Piedmont Natural Gas this year.
North Carolina regulators approved Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc.’s latest request for a reduction in the benchmark price charged to its customers. It will take effect on May 1.
Piedmont requested the reduction from $3.50 to $3.30 per dekatherm on April 13th. Piedmont stated in its request that the wholesale price for natural gas is continuing to fall from the highs of late last year. The company would be charging customers too much at $3.50 if this benchmark was maintained.
With the reduction in benchmark prices, the bill of a typical Piedmont consumer will be slightly lower. The impact of the cut in benchmark price will be less noticeable as natural gas usage levels for spring and summer are lower than winter's highs.
Duke Energy Corp., headquartered in Charlotte, owns Piedmont.
The peak in the price of natural gas commodities occurred during late winter. Piedmont Energy and Dominion Energy cut their benchmark prices significantly on February 1, with a significant impact on monthly bills.
In 2023, for example, the average Piedmont North Carolina customer had a monthly bill of $89 per year. In March, the monthly average bill fell to $72.77 after the $3.50 reduction from $4. This will mean that the average monthly bill will drop by about $2 over the course the year.