Natural gas rates down in S.C.
By The Associated Press Friday, October 03, 2008GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) — Natural gas customers in South Carolina’s Upstate are getting a break.
Piedmont Natural Gas Company’s rates dropped 15 percent Wednesday for its 140,000 customers.
Piedmont spokesman David Trusty in Charlotte, N.C., said demand for natural gas has slowed with the economy. Trusty also says power plants have burned less natural gas to generate electricity because the summer was cool in some parts of the country.
The Greenville News reported that monthly bills won’t necessarily drop by 15 percent, because customers are heading into the home heating season. Also, the retail price includes Piedmont’s cost of business and an 11 percent return on equity that regulators allow the company to earn.
But Dukes Scott with the state Office of Regulatory Staff says the rate reduction is significant.
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