Piedmont

Duke Energy Corp. subsidiary Piedmont Natural Gas said Friday it plans to build a $250 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facility in Robeson County, NC.

Regulators with the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) have approved Duke Energy Corp.’s acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas Inc. The merger is expected to close Monday.

The proposed Duke Energy Corp.-Piedmont Natural Gas Inc. tie-up is nearing final regulatory approval in North Carolina after the companies and the state’s consumer advocate agency, the Public Staff, submitted a proposed order last week approving the transaction.

With the Federal Trade Commission granting antitrust approval to the transaction this week, Duke Energy Corp. is one step closer to completing its proposed acquisition of Piedmont Natural Gas, a move that signals the electric utility giant’s growing interest in natural gas.

Two months after rival Southern Company announced an acquisition driven largely by shale gas abundance, Duke Energy announced a friendly takeout of its Charlotte, NC, neighbor and Atlantic Coast Pipeline project partner Piedmont Natural Gas.

Duke Energy plans to buy its Charlotte, NC, neighbor and Atlantic Coast Pipeline project partner Piedmont Natural Gas in a $4.9 billion cash deal that it said would give it “a growing natural gas platform.” Including debt, the value of the deal is $6.7 billion.

Piedmont Natural Gas on Tuesday opened a compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station to the public in Nashville, TN, hailing it as the next step in the utility company’s efforts to establish a CNG fueling corridor along the major interstates in its service area.

Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc., wrapping up a year during which it spent a record amount on capital expenditures (capex) and added thousands of customers to its fold, reported net income of $134.4 million for fiscal 2013, which ended Oct. 31.

Franklin H. Yoho has been named to the position of Senior Vice President — Marketing and Supply Services, Piedmont Natural Gas, effective March 18. Yoho will direct the Company’s retail and wholesale gas sales and marketing activities, gas supply planning and procurement, retail gas transportation and throughput management and supply-related project development. Most recently, Yoho has been Vice President, Business Development for CT Communications, a diversified telecommunications company headquartered near Charlotte. Prior to joining CT Communications, he was Senior Vice President, Marketing and Gas Supply for the former Public Service Company of North Carolina (PSNC), now a division of SCANA Corporation. At PSNC, he held the positions of President, Sonat Public Service Company LLC, Vice President, PSNC Production Company, and Vice President/Manager, Gas Supply and Transmission. Earlier, Yoho held marketing and gas supply positions with the Columbia Gas System, and Cabot Corporation.