Energy 2023: ROBERT DUVALL

As president of VNG for the second time, Duvall is responsible for the delivery of natural gas to more than 310,000 customers in southeastern Virginia. A civil engineering graduate of Clemson University, Duvall started his career in 1984 as a distribution engineer at Atlanta Gas Light, a subsidiary of Southern Company Gas, VNG’s Atlanta-based parent company. From 2014 to 2016, he was VNG’s president, then served as Southern’s senior vice president of customer operations before returning to the helm of VNG in 2020.

The company was expected to provide gas for the now-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, an $8 billion-plus, 600-mile pipeline that was backed by Dominion Energy and Duke Energy. Today, VNG is focusing attention on renewable natural gas production, with a five-year pilot launched in March. Approved by the Virginia State Corporation Commission, the RNG Interconnect program authorizes VNG to integrate renewable natural gas into its distribution system. The company aims to reach net-zero direct greenhouse emissions by 2050. In January, VNG opened a new customer service call center in Virginia Beach.

Duvall is a board member for the Hampton Roads Alliance.