Capital Program Planning for North Carolina Gas Utilities

by | Oct 21, 2026

North Carolina · Natural Gas Utilities

One of the fastest-growing gas markets in the country — with a capital list that won't sit still.

North Carolina's gas utilities are extending mains into new subdivisions, replacing decades-old steel pipe, and absorbing a decarbonization debate and a lost interstate pipeline all at once. Every one of those forces reshuffles the projects competing for the same capital. Invizion helps gas utilities re-sequence a capital portfolio in a click — and defend every decision.

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The bottom line: North Carolina is one of the Southeast's fastest-growing gas markets, and its utilities are extending mains, replacing vintage steel on a PHMSA clock, and pricing in a decarbonization future all at once — the ones who stay ahead will be those whose capital plans can re-sequence as fast as the pressures change.
~1.6M1
Natural gas customers across North Carolina (2024) — one of the fastest-growing gas markets in the Southeast.1
9.8%2
Authorized ROE in Piedmont Natural Gas's 2024 North Carolina rate case, which added about $88M in revenue.2
675,0003
Customers served by Enbridge Gas North Carolina (formerly PSNC) across 28 counties.3
$9.6M4
Federal NGDISM grant to Kings Mountain to replace 23 miles of aged, at-risk gas main (FY2024).4

The North Carolina Landscape

Four forces are moving your project list at once

Growth, aging pipe, decarbonization, and supply risk don't wait for the next budget cycle. Together they mean the capital plan you approved last year may already be the wrong plan.

Integrity — Aging Pipe & Safety

Replacing old steel while the system keeps growing

North Carolina's Pipeline Safety Section oversees roughly 40 distribution systems and 49 transmission systems, including eight municipal gas systems.5 Much of that pipe is vintage steel and early plastic that has to be replaced on a PHMSA-driven integrity schedule — at the same time crews are extending mains into fast-growing suburbs.

Federal dollars are now flowing to the work: PHMSA's FY2024 NGDISM awards sent $9.6M to Kings Mountain to replace 23 miles of main and $3.18M to Greenville Utilities for 3.23 miles of steel mains,4 after FY2023 grants of $5.43M to Rocky Mount (9.8 miles) and $3.18M to Wilson.6

Decarbonization — Electrification Pressure

A long-horizon question about throughput

North Carolina's 2021 carbon law (HB951 / Session Law 2021-165, “Energy Solutions for North Carolina”) directs the power sector toward a 70% CO2 cut by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.7 The law targets electric generation, but the electrification push it accelerates — heat pumps, all-electric new construction — is exactly the throughput risk that reshapes a gas LDC's long-horizon plan.

The investment case for a 40- or 50-year main now has to survive a decarbonization scenario. That makes the sequencing of replacement, expansion, and RNG or methane-reduction spending a portfolio question, not a project-by-project one.

Supply — Reliability & Price

Fewer pipes into a growing state

North Carolina leans heavily on a single interstate artery: Williams' Transco (Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line), a ~10,500-mile system carrying Gulf Coast gas through the Southeast and into the state.9 The Atlantic Coast Pipeline — 600 miles and 1.5 Bcf/d aimed at eastern North Carolina — was cancelled in July 2020 after costs ballooned toward $8B, leaving the east dependent on existing capacity.8

The bill impact is real: residential gas delivered for about $30.10 per Mcf in mid-2026 against a citygate price near $5.25,10 and the state burned roughly 690 Bcf across all sectors in 2024.11 Winter peaking and volatile wholesale costs flow straight to customers through the gas-cost rider.

Capital Recovery — Rates & Riders

Recovery is faster now — and more scrutinized

North Carolina lets its gas LDCs recover integrity and replacement capital between rate cases through rider mechanisms: Piedmont's Integrity Management Rider and, at Enbridge Gas North Carolina, an Integrity Management tracker (Rider E) and a pipeline-integrity expense tracker (Rider H).212

Base rates still get set the hard way. Piedmont's 2024 North Carolina case landed about $88M in additional revenue at a 9.8% ROE.2 With residential bills already reflecting a wide delivery-to-commodity spread,10 every capital dollar has to be defensible before the Commission.

Who Delivers North Carolina's Gas

Two large investor-owned LDCs, two smaller ones, and municipal systems

North Carolina's gas is delivered by four Commission-regulated distribution companies — led by Piedmont and Enbridge Gas — plus eight municipally owned systems, most of them in the east.

Investor-owned LDCs

Rates & capital recovery regulated by the NCUC

Piedmont Natural Gas (Duke Energy) >1M customers across NC, SC & TN — largest share in NC14
Enbridge Gas North Carolina (formerly PSNC) 675,000 customers · 28 counties · acquired from Dominion in 20243
Frontier Natural Gas Company Smaller LDC serving parts of eastern & central NC13
Toccoa Natural Gas Small LDC in far-western NC near the Georgia line13

Piedmont and Enbridge Gas together serve the large majority of the state's ~1.6M gas customers.1

Municipal gas systems

Publicly owned; the main recipients of federal NGDISM grants

Greenville Utilities Commission Eastern NC · $3.18M FY2024 NGDISM grant4
City of Rocky Mount Eastern NC · $5.43M FY2023 grant, 9.8 mi replaced6
Wilson (Wilson Energy) Eastern NC · $3.18M FY2023 NGDISM grant6
City of Kings Mountain Western Piedmont · $9.6M FY2024 grant, 23 mi replaced4

North Carolina has eight municipal gas systems operating outside NCUC rate jurisdiction.5

Rate-Setting & Oversight

Every capital dollar has to be defensible

North Carolina's gas LDCs recover capital through a mix of base rates and integrity riders — and each has to answer the same question: why this project, why now, why at this cost?

  • North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) regulates the rates and service of the state's investor-owned gas LDCs — Piedmont, Enbridge Gas North Carolina, Frontier, and Toccoa.13
  • Integrity Management Rider (IMR) lets Piedmont recover safety- and integrity-related capital investment between general rate cases; Enbridge Gas North Carolina uses parallel integrity trackers (Rider E and Rider H).212
  • Piedmont's 2024 North Carolina rate case produced roughly $88M in additional annual revenue at a 9.8% authorized ROE, effective November 2024.2
  • Gas-cost recovery (Rider D) passes volatile wholesale commodity costs through to customers — the mechanism through which winter price spikes reach the bill.12

Funding On The Table

Federal money is moving — can your plan absorb it?

North Carolina's municipal gas systems are winning real federal dollars for pipe replacement. The constraint is readiness: which projects qualify, which are shovel-ready, and how the timing lines up with rider recovery.

  • PHMSA NGDISM program — the federal Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety & Modernization grant program, funded at about $200M a year ($1B over five years) for municipally and community-owned systems.15
  • FY2024 NGDISM awards to NC: $9.61M to Kings Mountain (23 miles), $3.18M to Greenville Utilities (3.23 miles of steel main), and $14,000 to Lexington for leak-detection equipment.4
  • FY2023 NGDISM awards to NC: $5.43M to Rocky Mount to replace 9.8 miles of gas main and $3.18M to Wilson for tapping-tee replacements.6
  • Rider-based capital recovery — for the investor-owned LDCs, the integrity riders (Piedmont's IMR; Enbridge's Rider E/H) are the workhorse mechanism that turns replacement capital into recoverable investment between rate cases.212

Where Invizion Fits

Turn North Carolina's gas-system decisions into a defensible capital plan

Invizion is scenario-based capital portfolio optimization built for utilities. When a replacement mandate accelerates, throughput forecasts shift, or a decarbonization ruling lands, you don't re-plan by hand for weeks — you model it and decide with a record to stand behind.

1

Model the “what-if” before it's forced on you

A faster main-replacement schedule, a gas-line-extension ban, an RNG mandate — build the scenario and see the impact on the whole portfolio, side by side with today's plan.

2

Re-sequence 500 projects in a click

When priorities move, Invizion re-orders the portfolio automatically — accelerating, stretching, or deferring projects against the constraints you set, not weeks of spreadsheet surgery.

3

Give regulators or your board a defensible record

Every prioritization and trade-off is captured. When you're asked “why this project, why now,” the answer is documented — not reconstructed after the fact.

North Carolina's Gas Sector, In Brief

Questions North Carolina gas leaders are asking

Short, sourced answers — the same facts we dig into with utilities looking at their capital programs.

Who delivers natural gas in North Carolina?
Four NCUC-regulated LDCs — Piedmont Natural Gas (Duke Energy), Enbridge Gas North Carolina (formerly PSNC), Frontier Natural Gas, and Toccoa Natural Gas — plus eight municipally owned systems. Together they serve about 1.6 million customers.131
How are gas utilities funding aging-pipe replacement?
Investor-owned LDCs recover integrity and replacement capital through riders like Piedmont's Integrity Management Rider, while municipal systems are winning federal NGDISM grants — for example $9.6M to Kings Mountain and $5.43M to Rocky Mount.246
What is the Integrity Management Rider?
It is a cost-recovery mechanism that lets Piedmont recoup safety- and integrity-related capital between full rate cases; Enbridge Gas North Carolina uses parallel integrity trackers (Rider E and Rider H). It shortens the lag between spending on pipe replacement and earning a return on it.212
How did the Atlantic Coast Pipeline cancellation affect eastern North Carolina?
The 600-mile, 1.5 Bcf/d project meant to bring new supply into eastern North Carolina was cancelled in July 2020 after costs approached $8B, leaving the region reliant on existing Transco capacity for supply and design-day planning.89
Does North Carolina's carbon law affect gas utilities?
HB951 / Session Law 2021-165 targets the electric power sector — a 70% CO2 cut by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050 — but the electrification it accelerates is the long-horizon throughput risk gas LDCs now build into capital plans.7
How does Invizion help North Carolina gas utilities plan capital?
Invizion is scenario-based capital portfolio optimization for utilities. It lets you model how a growth surge, an NGDISM grant, a rider filing, or a decarbonization scenario reshuffles your whole project list, re-sequence the portfolio automatically, and keep a defensible record of every decision for the NCUC or your board.

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About the Author

GB

Guy Barlow

President, Invizion

Guy Barlow leads Invizion, a capital lifecycle management platform for water and wastewater utilities. He has spent two decades at the intersection of utility capital programs, funding, and analytics, helping utilities make faster, more defensible capital decisions.

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Invizion helps utilities model, optimize, and defend their capital programs. Explore how it works, or read our latest thinking on capital planning across the utility sector.

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This briefing was last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

  1. U.S. Energy Information Administration — North Carolina Number of Natural Gas Consumers (1,581,948 total; 1,444,353 residential, 2024). www.eia.gov
  2. Duke Energy 2025 Form 10-K — Piedmont Natural Gas 2024 North Carolina rate case (~$88M revenue increase, 9.8% ROE, effective Nov 2024) and Integrity Management Rider. www.sec.gov
  3. Enbridge Gas — Enbridge Gas North Carolina serves over 675,000 customers in 28 counties (formerly PSNC). www.enbridgegas.com
  4. PHMSA — FY2024 NGDISM Grants Report: Kings Mountain $9,609,485 (23 mi), Greenville Utilities $3,182,650 (3.23 mi steel main), Lexington $14,000 (leak detection). www.phmsa.dot.gov
  5. North Carolina Utilities Commission — Pipeline Safety Section regulates ~40 distribution and 49 transmission systems, including 8 municipal systems and 6 LNG facilities. www.ncuc.gov
  6. PHMSA — FY2023 NGDISM Grant Awards: Rocky Mount $5,428,269 (replace 9.8 mi of gas main); Wilson $3,179,837 (tapping-tee replacements). www.phmsa.dot.gov
  7. North Carolina General Assembly — House Bill 951, “Energy Solutions for North Carolina,” ratified as Session Law 2021-165 (Oct. 13, 2021), directing power-sector CO2 reductions (70% by 2030; carbon neutrality by 2050). www.ncleg.gov
  8. Atlantic Coast Pipeline — 600-mile, ~1.5 Bcf/d project to eastern North Carolina (Dominion/Duke/Piedmont), cancelled July 5, 2020 as costs approached $8B. en.wikipedia.org
  9. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco / Williams) — ~10,500-mile Gulf-Coast-to-Northeast system carrying gas through the Southeast, including North Carolina. en.wikipedia.org
  10. U.S. Energy Information Administration — North Carolina Natural Gas Prices (residential ~$30.10/Mcf; citygate ~$5.25/Mcf, June 2026). www.eia.gov
  11. U.S. Energy Information Administration — North Carolina Natural Gas Consumption by End Use (~689,748 MMcf total, 2024). www.eia.gov
  12. Enbridge Gas North Carolina — Rates & Tariffs: Rider D (gas adjustment), Rider E (integrity management tracker), Rider H (pipeline integrity management expense tracker). www.enbridgegas.com
  13. North Carolina Utilities Commission — Natural Gas: four regulated LDCs (Frontier, Piedmont, Enbridge Gas North Carolina, Toccoa) plus municipal systems. www.ncuc.gov
  14. Piedmont Natural Gas — serves more than one million customers across North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee; headquartered in Charlotte; a Duke Energy subsidiary. en.wikipedia.org
  15. PHMSA — Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization (NGDISM) grant program: ~$200M/year, $1B over five years, for municipal/community-owned systems. www.phmsa.dot.gov