A dispute between the N.C. Attorney General and Piedmont Natural Gas over return on equity and capital structure is likely to dominate a hearing that starts today on Piedmont’s proposed 3.1% rate hike, as the attorney general’s staff argues for more reductions that could all but eliminate the proposed increase.
Piedmont reached a deal last week with the Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission and two industrial customer groups that cut a proposed 9% rate hike to 3.1%. Residential customers…
