Virginia Natural Gas receives four Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy industry excellence awards
Company named LDC of the Year for infrastructure investments, supplier diversity, energy efficiency programs and corporate philanthropy
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Nov. 9, 2020 – Virginia Natural Gas is honored to be the recipient of four Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) Awards from the Virginia Oil and Gas Association (VOGA). The awards include Local Distribution Company of the Year (LDC), the fourth time the energy company has received the honor.
Along with the LDC of the Year award, Virginia Natural Gas received the Excellence in Outreach Innovation Award for its enhanced communication platform, Keep Me Informed (KMI), the Community Outreach Award for the charitable giving and volunteerism efforts through the Something in the Water festival and the Environmental Stewardship Award for working to reduce greenhouse emissions through the purchase of Differentiated natural gas.
“Virginia Natural Gas continues to distinguish itself as an industry leader, dedicated to environmental stewardship, committed to providing outstanding customer service and operating a safe and reliable natural gas distribution system,” noted DMME and VOGA when it announced the winners.
“Everyone at Virginia Natural Gas is honored and humbled to receive these awards, especially the LDC of the Year award for a fourth time,” said Robert Duvall, president of Virginia Natural Gas. “These awards reflect the outstanding and innovative efforts of our team members to support our community and our industry.”
As LDC of the Year, the company was recognized for its commitment to support diverse and minority-owned businesses across southeast Virginia, with more than $23.8 million in goods and services purchased in 2019, an increase of nearly $7 million since 2015. VNG was also commended for its continuing education initiative, the Energy Efficiency Program, along with infrastructure upgrades that helped save customers more than $2.5 million since October 2019.
VNG also earned the Excellence in Outreach Innovation award by leveraging mobile telephone technology as part of an investment to expand customer communications to meet customer expectations. Through Keep Me Informed, or KMI, the company has been able to provide proactive status updates to residential customers about scheduled appointments. Since being introduced in late 2019, more than 13,000 customers have received appointment updates via text messages.
As a supporter of the community through volunteerism and philanthropic endeavors, VNG earned the Community Outreach award. Its partnership with singer Pharrell Williams during the inaugural “Something in the Water” festival, helped expand the community gardens at Seatack Elementary School to create a living and educational garden for students. The company also helped keep the beaches clean during the three-day festival by providing recycle bins to help collect more than 21 tons of trash left behind by some 35,000 visitors to Virginia Beach.
The Environmental Stewardship award was bestowed for helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to homes and businesses across Coastal Virginia. VNG committed to be the first natural gas provider in America to deliver gas that is 100% sourced, transported and distributed by companies that have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to less than 1% across the natural gas value chain.
In total, 21 Virginia DMME Gas and Oil Industry Awards were presented to 16 businesses and individuals for excellence in the oil and gas industry throughout 2019. For more information about the Industry Excellence awards, visit the Virginia Oil and Gas Association.
The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy’s Division of Gas and Oil and the Virginia Oil and Gas Association created the annual award program to recognize outstanding achievements by members of the gas and oil industry in Virginia.
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About Virginia Natural Gas
Virginia Natural Gas is one of four natural gas distribution companies of Southern Company Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO). Virginia Natural Gas provides natural gas service to nearly 300,000 customers in southeast Virginia and has been recognized as one of the safest, most reliable and customer-focused natural gas service providers. Consistently ranked in the top quartile for customer satisfaction by J.D. Power and Associates, the company has also been recognized by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy and the Virginia Oil and Gas Association for its safety, community outreach and educational programs, and was named Local Distribution Company for three consecutive years. Virginia Natural Gas has been ranked by its business customers as being one of the most Trusted Business Partners in the utility industry according to Cogent Reports, and as one of the Top Workplaces in Hampton Roads by Inside Business. For more information, visit virginianaturalgas.com and connect with the company on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
About Southern Company Gas
Southern Company Gas is a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlanta-based Southern Company (NYSE:SO), America’s premier energy company. Southern Company Gas serves approximately 4.2 million natural gas utility customers through its regulated distribution companies in four states and approximately 700,000 retail customers through its companies that market natural gas. Other nonutility businesses include investments in interstate pipelines, asset management for natural gas wholesale customers and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. For more information, visit southerncompanygas.com.
Media Contact:
Rick DelaHaya
o: 757.616.7510 | c: 757.323.7366 | rdelahay@southernco.com
