The company’s Patriot project will expand ETNG in Tennessee and Virginia and extend it through the Patriot Extension – a new 94-mile pipeline into southwest Virginia and North Carolina.

Work began with the construction of an additional pipeline within the existing ETNG easement in Sullivan County, Tenn., and a horizontal directional drill (HDD) under the New River in Wythe County, Va. This 1,600-foot HDD along a portion of the Patriot Extension will be located 35 feet below the New River and is expected to take about six weeks.

Additional work on the Patriot project also will be conducted concurrently on the Patriot Extension and the existing ETNG system, and will meet all conditions included in the certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last November.

“We are pleased that regulatory approvals have been granted for work to begin on our ETNG Patriot project,” said DEGT President Tom O’Connor.

“This year, during a winter that was only slightly colder than normal in areas served by the East Tennessee system, the ETNG pipeline experienced 15 of its top 40 peak delivery days in the history of the system,” O’Connor added, emphasizing the need for new energy infrastructure in the growing southeast United States. “We believe it is critical that new pipeline capacity is available for our customers as quickly as possible.”

More information on the Patriot project can be found at www.patriotextension.com.

The ETNG pipeline system has transported natural gas to industries and local distribution companies (LDCs) in Tennessee and parts of Virginia for the past 50 years. This 1,129-mile pipeline system begins in central Tennessee, converges near Knoxville and extends to a point near Roanoke, Va. The system provides natural gas transportation and storage services to about 40 LDCs and 17 industries in the region.

Duke Energy Gas Transmission is a North American leader in developing energy infrastructure and connecting major natural gas supply basins to growing markets. The company’s natural gas operations include more than 18,000 miles of interstate transmission pipeline and 250 billion cubic feet of storage capacity in Canada and the United States. More information on DEGT can be found at www.degt.duke-energy.com.

Duke Energy is a diversified multinational energy company with an integrated network of energy assets and expertise. The company manages a dynamic portfolio of natural gas and electric supply, delivery and trading businesses – meeting the energy needs of customers throughout North America and in key markets around the world. Duke Energy, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available on the Internet at: www.duke-energy.com.