By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
Piedmont Natural Gas is closing its Salisbury business office at 501 N. Main St.
In a letter mailed to customers, company officials announced that the office will close May 30.
Customers who previously paid their bills at the office have a number of options as to how to pay them in the future. Those options include paying online, through the mail or through bank drafts.
Customers who want to continue paying their bills in person may do so at a pair of “authorized pay stations” in Salisbury.
The first of those stations is at Innes Street Drugs #1 at 112 S. Main St. There is no service fee to customers paying at this location.
The second pay station is at Innes Street Drugs #2 at 1706 W. Innes St. For customers paying at this location, a $1 service fee will be charged.
David Trusty, a Piedmont Natural Gas spokesman, said the office that’s being closed belongs to the company. He said the decision to close it is part of a consolidation of various business processes.
Piedmont has already closed offices in a variety of other towns across the Southeast, Trusty said.
He said that in addition to owning the North Main Street business office, the company also has a separate operation center in Salisbury.
Trusty said having an office to receive payments doesn’t make good fiscal sense.
“From an expense standpoint, it’s the most expensive means of processing a payment,” he said.
Trusty said the building is in the process of being appraised. He said it will likely be sold, but said he had no time frame for when that will happen.
Trusty said three employees will be affected by the office’s closing. He said it’s too early to tell if the employees will move to other positions, be furloughed or retire.
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Contact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.