Local

Hearing scheduled for Piedmont Natural Gas' request for 9% rate hike

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The N.C. Utilities Commission has scheduled a hearing starting Aug. 19 for evidence and expert testimony on Piedmont Natural Gas’ request for a 9% overall rate increase.

According to information filed with the commission, the increase would hike residential customer rates about 9.8%, commercial customer rates by 10.35% to 11.1% and industrial customer rates about 6.6%.

Typical residential customers would see their average monthly bills go up about $12.23 to $122.14 in the winter heating months and about $2.34 to $31.21 for the remaining months. The average increase for the full year would be about $6.46 per month, Piedmont calculates.

The commission also announced four hearings around the state for members of the public to comment on the rate proposal.

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