Piedmont Natural Gas selects route for critical Greenville County, S.C., Reliability Project based on community input

• Recent growth in Greenville County is driving increased demand for natural gas.

• Additional infrastructure is needed to ensure reliable natural gas service.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - After months of collaborating with local community leaders, government officials and individual landowners, Piedmont Natural Gas today said it plans to locate its Greenville County Reliability Project in the Department of Transportation (DOT) right of way running along Highway 290. The new infrastructure project is vital to meeting the demand for natural gas resulting from growth in and around Greenville.

Those familiar with the project will recognize this as Piedmont's proposed blue route. The company offered three different routes, labeled as red, green and blue, and invited landowners, business operators along each route and other community stakeholders to submit feedback and share any additional details to consider when evaluating the route options.

After reviewing community input as well as environmental impact, safety, cost and reliability, the blue route, which is roughly 12 miles long, beginning near the post office in Taylors, S.C., and ending off Highway 25, emerged as the most preferred route.

Hank McCullough, Piedmont Natural Gas community relations manager said, "working directly with this community and the impacted landowners has not only given us a clear path forward for this project, it also has allowed Piedmont to hear firsthand what's important to the people of this community. We appreciate everyone who participated in the evaluation process and recognize there is a clear expectation that we continue to preserve and protect the environment."

Construction of the Greenville County Reliability Project is still more than a year away with land surveys set to begin early in 2022. Piedmont says it will communicate directly with landowners and businesses along the route before land surveys begin and throughout the process until the project is complete. The company also will continue posting up-to-date project information on its website at piedmontng.com/Greenville.

The Greenville County Reliability Project is critical to meeting this growing demand for natural gas. Piedmont Natural Gas serves almost 91,000 customers in Greenville County, and experienced approximately 3% growth annually in the area in recent consecutive years.

Piedmont Natural Gas

Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, is an energy services company whose principal business is the distribution of natural gas to more than 1 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. The company also supplies natural gas to power plants. Piedmont is routinely recognized by J.D. Power for excellent customer satisfaction, and has been named by Cogent Reports as one of the most trusted utility brands in the U.S.

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 7.9 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 51,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,500 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy strategy to create a smarter energy future for its customers and communities - with goals of at least a 50 percent carbon reduction by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The company is a top U.S. renewable energy provider, on track to own or purchase 16,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2025. The company also is investing in major electric grid upgrades and expanded battery storage, and exploring zero-emitting power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2021 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "America's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com. The Duke Energy News Center contains news releases, fact sheets, photos and videos. Duke Energy's illumination features stories about people, innovations, community topics and environmental issues. Follow Duke Energy on Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.

Piedmont Natural Gas media contact: Jennifer Sharpe
Phone: 877.348.3612
Email: [email protected]

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