Charlotte, NC-based Piedmont Natural Gas Co. filed for a reduction in its rates for customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. The filings with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) and South Carolina’s Public Service Commission (PSC) seek to lower the wholesale cost of gas benchmark contained within rates in each state and follow recent declines in the wholesale cost of gas.

Earlier this month the company also filed a request with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority to reduce rates in Tennessee. The proposed reductions, if approved by the respective state regulatory bodies, would go into effect on Jan. 1.

The benchmark reflects the wholesale cost of gas supplies purchased on behalf of customers. Wholesale cost of gas represents the single largest portion of the gas bill, typically making up between 65% and 70%. Piedmont passes through the wholesale cost of gas to its customers.

Piedmont’s proposed benchmark reductions would have the effect of reducing residential billing rates by approximately 7% in North Carolina, between 7% and 8% in South Carolina, and by 15% in Tennessee.

Earlier this year Piedmont said it was evaluating sites for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) peak-shaving storage facility in North Carolina. It would be the fifth such facility that Piedmont owns or operates within its three-state service area. The company has two LNG facilities in North Carolina and one in Nashville, TN. Piedmont is also an equity partner in Pine Needle LNG, a joint venture with subsidiaries of Williams, SCANA Corp., Hess Corp. and the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. Pine Needle owns and operates an LNG peak storage facility near Greensboro, NC (see Daily GPI, June 10).

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