PSNC asks N.C. for 14% rate cut

PSNC Energy has filed a request with the N.C. Utilities Commission to reduce its natural-gas rates by 14 percent.
The filing is in response to the recent drop in the wholesale cost of natural gas. PSNC adjusts the rates it charges customers based on the amount it has to pay to buy natural gas.
The change, which would take place Jan. 1, would cut about $19 from the average residential consumer’s monthly bill.
Gastonia-based PSNC is a subsidiary of Scana Corp. (NYSE:SCG) of Columbia, S.C. The utility serves a 28-county area in North Carolina, distributing natural gas to 460,000 customers in 96 communities.
PSNC’s request comes the same week that Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. sought regulatory approval to cut residential billing rates 7 percent in North Carolina and between 7 and 8 percent in South Carolina.
If approved, Piedmont’s rate reductions also would take effect Jan. 1.
Piedmont says its proposed cuts reflect a decline in the wholesale price of natural gas.
Charlotte-based Piedmont (NYSE:PNY) distributes natural gas to 740,000 customers in the Carolinas and Tennessee.