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Piedmont Natural Gas Issues Forecast for 2007-2008 Winter Heating Bills; Weather Remains Key Factor

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 October 2007, 12:00 CDT

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Piedmont Natural Gas today announced its 2007/2008 forecast for residential winter heating bills. Given current price projections for the winter period (November - March) and assuming weather similar to last year, Piedmont says residential customers could see winter heating bills that are moderately higher than last year, in line with national expectations. Piedmont's forecast also notes that temperatures on average during the 2006-2007 winter were about 9 percent warmer than normal. While the National Weather Service is predicting another warmer-than-normal winter, colder weather could cause customers to consume larger volumes of natural gas, resulting in bills higher than what is currently being projected.

Commenting on the forecast, Piedmont Natural Gas Chairman, President and CEO Thomas E. Skains said, "We believe that today's wholesale natural gas prices reflect a more normalized pricing environment -- an environment where domestic natural gas production has recovered from the hurricane-related supply disruptions of 2005-2006, gas in storage heading into the winter is approaching record levels, and natural gas demand is continuing to grow." Mr. Skains went on to say, "We continue to encourage our customers to use natural gas and all energy forms wisely, to adjust their thermostats and weatherize their homes and businesses. With natural gas, they can still be comfortable and conserve at the same time."

Customers can visit http://www.piedmontng.com/ to learn more about conservation tips and practices. Through self-service features at the website customers can also perform a variety of tasks such as enrolling in EPP, requesting a payment arrangement, starting or stopping natural gas service, viewing their account history over the previous 12 months and enrolling in Piedmont's bank draft program or updating bank draft information.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on management's current expectations and information currently available and are believed to be reasonable and are made in good faith. However, the forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the statements. Factors that may make the actual results differ from anticipated results include, but are not limited to, regulatory issues, economic and capital market conditions, the cost and availability of natural gas, weather conditions and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and some of which are beyond our control. For these reasons, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements when making investment decisions. The words "expect,""believe,""project,""anticipate,""intend,""should,""could,""will,""assume,""can,""estimate,""forecast,""future,""indicate,""outlook,""plan,""predict,""seek,""target,""would," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are only as of the date they are made and we do not undertake any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement, either as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by applicable laws and regulations. More information about the risks and uncertainties relating to these forward- looking statements may be found in Piedmont's latest Form 10-Q and its other filings with the SEC, which are available on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov/.

About Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial utility customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including 61,000 customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy- related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, interstate natural gas storage and intrastate natural gas transportation. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available at http://www.piedmontng.com/.

Piedmont Natural Gas

CONTACT: David Trusty, +1-704-731-4391, +1-704-507-6393,david.trusty@piedmontng.com, or Amber Lineback, +1-704-731-4517,+1-704-258-5508, amber.lineback@piedmontng.com, both of Piedmont Natural Gas

Web site: http://www.piedmontng.com/

Source: PRNewswire-FirstCall

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