Piedmont Natural Gas customers across North Carolina are getting another break on their bills just as the weather turns cold. The utility's latest rate decrease took effect Nov. 1, marking the fifth time this year Piedmont has lowered its North Carolina rates.
According to Duke Energy's newsroom, which owns Piedmont, this year's string of reductions followed earlier cuts in January, February, April and June. Combined, the 2026 rate decreases are expected to reduce average residential customers' bills by approximately 9%, or about $112 per year, the company says. Customers will begin seeing the latest reduction reflected on their November bills, with the full impact showing up in later months, per the same release.
Reports differ on exactly how much the newest cut alone is worth to a typical household. Duke Energy's release states the Nov. 1 change will lower the average residential bill by just under $12 per year, while WFAE reported the change is expected to reduce the average residential bill by about $12 per month. The Hickory Record, meanwhile, reported the latest change lowers the average residential customer's bill by just under $100 per year. Piedmont has not publicly reconciled the discrepancy.
A Break Timed to Winter Heating Season
WSOC TV first reported on the North Carolina rate break, noting that Piedmont customers in the state will see relief on their bills as the latest reduction, which per the Hickory Record took effect this week, lands right as heating demand ramps up. The timing matters for households that lean on natural gas furnaces through the colder months, when usage and bills typically climb together.
Piedmont also runs a Customer Assistance Program that automatically provides a monthly bill credit to eligible income-qualified, active North Carolina residential customers from November through March, according to the Duke Energy release. That program runs alongside the broader rate reductions, offering extra help to qualifying households during the same stretch of the year when heating costs tend to spike.
Piedmont Still Charges More Than Other NC Utilities
Even with five rounds of cuts this year, Piedmont's rates remain higher than those of the state's other regulated natural gas providers. A comparison of North Carolina Utilities Commission filings reported by The Charlotte Observer in April found Piedmont's residential rates sit above the state's three other regulated local distribution companies. An October 2025 comparison cited by the Observer put Piedmont's year-round average residential bill at $114.66 per month, about $42 more than the next-highest utility and well above the statewide average of $76.25.
That gap helps explain why this year's repeated reductions have drawn attention even as they chip away at bills only modestly. For now, Piedmont customers can expect to see the newest adjustment show up on their November statements, with the complete effect of the change carrying into the months that follow.
