A Wall Street Transcript Interview with Gregory Osborne, President and Chief Operating Officer of Gas Natural Inc. (EGAS)

Wall Street Transcript

67 WALL STREET, New York - February 19, 2014 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Alternative Energy & Utilities Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This special feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Outlook for Biofuels and Biochemicals - Asia Pacific Demand for Solar Energy - Grid Parity Timelines for Alternative Energy - Solar Energy Pricing - Government Subsidies and Regulation - Solar Growth Drivers and Headwinds - Regulatory Headwinds for U.S. Utilities

Companies include: Gas Natural Inc. (EGAS) and many others.

In the following excerpt from the Alternative Energy & Utilities Report, the President of Gas Natural (EGAS) discusses the outlook for his company for investors:

TWST: Can you begin with a brief introduction to Gas Natural, including some highlights from the company's history and an overview of your current operations?

Mr. Osborne: We have utilities in seven states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Wyoming, Montana, Maine, North Carolina. We've spent a good portion of our capital expenditures over the past several years in our emerging markets, which are Maine and North Carolina. Currently, both of those states use predominantly heating oil and propane.

Due to the current price and the stability of natural gas - most importantly, the availability of natural gas now in our country due to all the shale technology and drilling - it's been a great opportunity for a number of customers to convert. Converting, especially if it's heating oil, there is an expense to that. Propane is easier and not as expensive, but there is a cost to convert. So what we've seen with the stability of natural gas over the long haul and with the new reserves, we've seen a lot of people spending the money and converting. Large manufacturers can spend quite a bit of money in getting new boilers, but you are seeing that now more than ever. So where states like North Carolina and Maine are 70% either heating oil or propane, it's been a great opportunity to grow asset bases in those two states. We also have done well adding to our customer base in Ohio. We have some small operations in Pennsylvania and Kentucky, but we are looking for some bolt-on opportunities there to grow those utilities. Additionally, we have steady, solid rate base in Montana and Wyoming.

So I believe we are in a good position because we are a diversified utility. We are also weather diverse, as we are across country. We are also a unique utility for the fact that we are not maintaining, as lots of utilities just maintain; they don't grow. We are adding approximately 3% to 5% of new customer base on a yearly basis. So that's pretty exciting. We are a utility that is constantly growing, putting a lot of capex in the ground, and we'll continue to do that.

TWST: What are other opportunities to grow your business? What obstacles and opportunities are on the horizon?

For more of this interview and many others visit the Wall Street Transcript - a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs, portfolio managers and research analysts. This special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.