Georgia Natural Gas Honored by Better Business Bureau for Dedication to Community Service

ATLANTA, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Georgia Natural Gas (GNG), the state's leading natural gas provider and a nationally recognized leader in corporate volunteerism, is the 2008 recipient of the Torch Award for Community Service given by the Better Business Bureau Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens and Northeast Georgia (BBB). The award, in the category of companies with up to 100 employees, designates GNG as a "company of excellence."

"Georgia Natural Gas has been a BBB Accredited Business for almost 10 years, and their community service program has made a tremendous difference in the lives of children and senior citizens in our area. We applaud GNG for their commitment to our community," said Fred Elsberry, president & CEO of BBB Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens and Northeast Georgia.

In the six years since GNG implemented its community service program, the company's employees have made a tremendous difference in the lives of Georgia citizens through volunteerism. The company has fewer than 90 full-time employees, who collectively volunteered more than 1,000 hours in 2007 at various nonprofits throughout Georgia.

"More than half a million people in the communities we serve depend on us for their natural gas service," said Mike Braswell, president and CEO of SouthStar Energy Services, which does business in Georgia as Georgia Natural Gas. "We never forget our obligation to make the communities we serve better places to live and work."

In addition to its volunteer efforts, GNG has supported nonprofits, schools and other organizations that offer services and programs to deserving Georgians, particularly children and senior citizens. For example, in 2006 the company donated $1.1 million to four metro-Atlanta agencies to weatherize the homes of hundreds of low-income seniors. The company's TrueBlue Crew of employee volunteers, whose motto is "Working Together ... Serving Together," works at dozens of events throughout the year and serves as tutors at Atlanta-based Centennial Place Elementary School.

The award was presented recently at the BBB's Torch Awards ceremony at the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta. More than 60 companies applied for the awards earlier this year.

About Georgia Natural Gas

Georgia Natural Gas (GNG) is the state's leading natural gas provider, serving more than half a million residential, commercial and industrial customers throughout Georgia. GNG is part of SouthStar Energy Services, a Georgia-based joint venture between AGL Resources and Piedmont Natural Gas Co. . SouthStar also operates in Ohio as Ohio Natural Gas, in Florida as Florida Natural Gas, in the Carolinas as Piedmont Energy, and in other parts of the Southeast as SouthStar Energy Services. For more information, visit http://www.onlygng.com/ or http://www.southstarenergy.com/.

About the BBB

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is an unbiased organization that sets and upholds high standards for fair and honest business behavior. The BBB's mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. Businesses that earn BBB accredited status contractually agree and adhere to the organization's high standards of ethical best business practices. BBB accreditation is an honor and not every company is eligible. Today, 128 BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada, evaluating and monitoring more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities. Over 2,000 local businesses are members of the BBB Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens and Northeast Georgia.