CHARLOTTE — Piedmont Natural Gas says customers will see a decrease on their next bills after a rate reduction took effect on June 1.
PNG says the rate change will lower the average residential customer bill by about 4.35%, which adds up to about $54 per year.
The company says that’s on top of rate decreases that happened earlier this year in January, February, and April. The combined rate decreases add up to about 8% off the average customer’s bill.
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Even with the rate decrease, PNG has a higher rate than the national average. Channel 9 reported in February when PNG was charging $2.14 per therm, compared to the national average of $1.70 per therm. South Carolina’s PNG customers paid $1.54 per therm earlier this year.
A PNG spokesperson said the difference is due to PNG’s footprint in North Carolina.
"Piedmont serves a smaller footprint and customer base in South Carolina, resulting in different rates for our South Carolina customers,” said Jason Wheatley.
All rate changes have been reviewed and approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission, PNG said.