Piedmont Gas is one of the oldest operating companies in Nashville.
“We have been in business since 1851,” Eddie Davidson, the State Government Affairs Director of Piedmont told News 2.
He said they know all too well just how much Nashville is growing, currently supplying 185,000 customers in Middle Tennessee.
“The growth has been phenomenal over the last five years. Our customer growth has topped 14,000 customers. We are seeing customer growth of around 65 new customers added to our system every week, so that brings along a lot of good when it comes to building the size our company and the number of customers that we have, but it does present a few challenges to us.”
Challenges that most construction companies encounter like finding contractors.
“We have addressed it in a number of different ways, and the chief among those is that we have expanded that pool of contractors and we have made known that we are looking to expand that group,” Davidson explained.
He said Piedmont has more than doubled the number of groups they work with.
“And that gives us more flexibility in the scheduling, which anyone will tell you in the construction business the scheduling is one of the biggest challenges that we have.”
Davidson said they operate 24/7 when it comes to the safety and reliability of their natural gas system.
“It’s comfortable, it’s affordable, it’s reliable and it’s environmentally responsible and that’s driven a lot of the demand that we’ve seen in the growth of our business over the last few years,” said Davidson.
To keep up with the demand, there’s a lot of work that must take place.
“We have a group that works with our engineering group to model to ensure that we have an adequate natural gas supply. We take a strong look at everything from weather to real estate listings to determine what’s our future growth going to look like and what will our needs be, and we work very hard to be sure that we can deliver that affordable, reliable natural gas service and meet that demand as it materializes.”
The infrastructure is playing a viable role. Last year Piedmont invested about $88 million into maintaining and growing it.
“The pipes in the ground, that’s how we deliver the natural gas and so we are continuously improving that infrastructure, upgrading it where necessary and replacing it as it ages out of its useful life.”
Davidson said they also have to ensure there is enough supply.
“The great thing that we have seen over the last few years though is that the supply of natural gas has never been greater, and it’s never been cheaper,” he said.
He said while Piedmont is focused on growth, customers are helping conserve.
“While we have seen more customers come online and utilize that natural gas, you are seeing that natural gas – the total amount that’s being used – remain flat and that happens because builders are building more efficient homes,” Davidson explained. “There are more efficient appliances being utilized and so because of that this extended supply of natural gas means that we are going to have it, a good supply for many, many years to come.”
Right now, Davidson said they are starting to see more growth when it comes to multi-family homes and condos, so they are looking at ways to be able to offer natural gas services in some of the high-rise buildings.
“We have actually built our first vertical natural gas main in a development that’s taking place in Nashville right now. We expect that trend to continue as the density continues to show up in the particularly urban core and we are available to meet that demand, as well as the demand out with the single-family homes and businesses out in the more standard applications for natural gas.”
Another challenge Piedmont faces is coordinating with other utilities in the ground like water and sewer.
Davidson said they rely on help from the city as well as the other utility services. A tool they use and encourage their customers to use is 811. It’s a free service you can call to ensure utilities are marked and people are digging in a safe manner.
News 2 tracks the historic growth in Middle Tennessee with our special Nashville 2018 reports.Click here to learn more.
For more stories featured in our“Strain on the System” special, click here.
