Piedmont Natural Gas is reminding customers of available programs and tips to help manage energy bills as colder weather approaches the Southeast next week. The company provides several tools to help users monitor and reduce their natural gas consumption.
Customers can view their monthly gas usage history by logging into their online accounts, which may help identify patterns and savings opportunities. The Energy Advisor tool allows customers to assess the energy efficiency of their homes using personalized data, while online calculators estimate annual costs for water heating, cooking, and clothes drying.
A video explaining factors affecting natural gas bills is also available on Piedmont’s website.
To save energy without sacrificing comfort, Piedmont suggests setting thermostats to the lowest comfortable level and using smart or programmable thermostats to reduce use during sleep or absences. Customers are encouraged to take advantage of sunlight during winter days by keeping drapes open and closing them at night for insulation. Regularly changing air filters can prevent heating systems from working harder than necessary.
Other recommendations include setting water heater temperatures to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or considering tankless models, sealing seams and cracks in homes with caulk or weatherstripping—which can lead to 10%–20% savings on heating and cooling bills—sealing air ducts, and adding insulation where needed.
The Equal Payment Plan (EPP) program offers customers a way to stabilize their monthly bills by averaging annual usage into predictable payments each month. More details about EPP are available on Piedmont’s website.
For those facing financial hardship, Share the Warmth distributes funds through local agencies to assist with utility bills regardless of energy source. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is also available for eligible applicants needing help paying for home energy needs. Additional information about assistance programs can be found at piedmontng.com/AssistancePrograms; state-specific resources are listed at piedmontng.com/WinterBills.
Piedmont Natural Gas serves over 1.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee as a subsidiary of Duke Energy. More information about the company is accessible at piedmontng.com.
