The US energy group Duke Energy has reached an agreement with the gas company Spire to sell its Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee business, a local gas distribution company in Tennessee (United States), for US$2.48bn in cash to Spire. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval by the Tennessee Public Utility Commission, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2026. Proceeds from the sale will enable Duke Energy to offset debt at Piedmont Natural Gas (around US$800m), and around US$1.5bn will help finance Duke Energy's US$83bn five-year capital plan focused on energy modernisation investments.
The Piedmont Natural Gas Tennessee business includes nearly 3,800 miles (over 6, 100 km) of gas transmission and distribution pipelines and a LNG facility serving approximately 205,000 customers in the Greater Nashville area. Overall, the company distributes natural gas to more than 1.2 million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.