piedmont natural gas company, inc. is an energy and services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to over 690,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in north carolina, south carolina and tennessee. in the carolinas, the company's service area is comprised of numerous cities, towns and communities including anderson, greenville and spartanburg in south carolina and charlotte, salisbury, greensboro, winston-salem, high point, burlington and hickory in north carolina. in tennessee, its service area is the metropolitan area of nashville. the company also retails residential and commercial gas appliances in tennessee.