‘It’s just shocking’: Many Piedmont customers say gas bills have doubled, tripled

CHARLOTTE — Beth Dixon said her gas bill has gone up by about $100.

“I wanted to know why,” she told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke. “Somebody on Nextdoor mentioned that we should contact Action 9, so that’s why I contacted you.”

Emily Hashimoto told Action 9 her bill was also about $100 more than the month before, and about $70 higher than this time last year.

“You know, utilities -- you have to have. They’re not optional,” Hashimoto said. “Regardless of how much money you make, it’s just shocking.”

Hashimoto said she serves on her community’s Home Owner’s Association as treasurer, and told Action 9 that many of her neighbors have similar stories.

“Just got numerous responses from people that theirs’ doubled and even tripled in some cases,” she said.

Stoogenke can relate -- his bill went from $102 to $230.

In 2019, Piedmont Natural Gas raised rates 3% and the average household had to pay $1.80 more per month. You probably didn’t notice it though because, first, the price of natural gas went down and, two, Piedmont was crediting customer accounts for 13 months because of changes in tax law.

But the price of gas has recently gone up and the 13 months just ran out.

The main reason your bill probably went up dramatically though is usage. In other words, the weather. November was unusually warm while December was much closer to normal.

“November, which is normally a warmer month anyway, was one of the warmest we’d had in decades,” said Channel 9 Chief Meteorologist Steve Udelson. “It was six degrees warmer than average. And then December was actually just a little bit -- about one degree or so -- above average. But it made a huge difference.”

Piedmont told Action 9 that from December 2017 to December 2020, customers paid almost the same -- just 0.3% more over the three-year period.

If you need help paying your power bill, Piedmont offers:

• Payment plans to help you control how much you spend or to help you pay off the money you owe.
• Advice on how to manage your usage.

Other resources that could provide help are:

• Crisis Assistance Ministry
• The North Carolina Crisis Intervention Program
• The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program

Piedmont contact information:

• www.piedmontng.com
• 800-752-7504 Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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Cox Media Group