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Gas Natural Inc. Names Dean A. Ward as Chief Information Officer

GREAT FALLS, Mont., Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Gas Natural Inc. (NYSE Amex: EGAS) (the "Company"), a natural gas utility company serving approximately 63,500 customers in six states, has named Dean A. Ward to the new position of Chief Information Officer, reporting to the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Thomas J. Smith. Mr. Ward, 48, will be responsible for the planning, alignment, governance and delivery of the Company's information technology infrastructure. Current challenges include the integration of the various operating units under a new organization-wide accounting and financial management system and the further development of a reliable, high-capacity technology infrastructure.

"Given Dean's depth of experience and knowledge of change management, we expect to more fully evolve our use of technology to deliver high quality, reliable information that can support our growth strategy and to provide more efficient means to continually improve customer satisfaction," Mr. Smith noted.

Mr. Ward's 20 years of experience includes previous roles as the acting CIO for The Kennedy Group, The Director of Information Technologies for Hausser + Taylor/Maloney + Novotny LLC., The National Manager of Support at RSM McGladrey, Regional Economic Leader and National Manager of support for American Express, as well as the owner of his own technology consulting firm.

About Gas Natural Inc.
Gas Natural Inc. distributes and sells natural gas to end-use residential, commercial, and industrial customers. It distributes approximately 30 billion cubic feet of natural gas to approximately 63,500 customers through regulated utilities operating in Montana, Wyoming, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maine and North Carolina. The Company markets approximately 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas to commercial and industrial customers in Montana and Wyoming on an unregulated basis. In August 2011, the Company acquired its propane operations, delivering liquid propane, heating oil, and kerosene to approximately 4,500 customers in North Carolina and Virginia. The Company also has ownership interests in 160 natural gas producing wells and gas gathering assets and owns the Shoshone interstate and the Glacier gathering pipelines located in Montana and Wyoming. The Company's Montana public utility was originally incorporated in 1909 and is headquartered in Great Falls, Montana.

The Company's toll-free number is 800-570-5688. The Company's address is 1 First Avenue South, Great Falls, Montana 59401 and its website is www.ewst.com.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The Company is including the following cautionary statement in this release to make applicable and to take advantage of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 for any forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, Gas Natural Inc. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those that are identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "predicts," "believes" and similar expressions. Such statements are inherently subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed. Factors that may affect forward-looking statements and the Company's business generally include but are not limited to the Company's ability to successfully integrate the operations of the companies it has recently acquired and consummate additional acquisitions, the Company's continued ability to make dividend payments, the Company's ability to implement its business plan, fluctuating energy commodity prices, the possibility that regulators may not permit the Company to pass through all of its increased costs to its customers, changes in the utility regulatory environment, wholesale and retail competition, the Company's ability to satisfy its debt obligations, including compliance with financial covenants, weather conditions, litigation risks, and various other matters, many of which are beyond the Company's control, the risk factors and cautionary statements made in the Company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and other factors that the Company is currently unable to identify or quantify, but may exist in the future. Gas Natural Inc. expressly undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement contained herein to reflect any change in Gas Natural Inc.'s expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

For more information contact:

    Gas Natural Inc.                 Investor Relations:  Kei Advisors LLC
    Thomas J. Smith, Chief Financial
     Officer                         Deborah K. Pawlowski, Chairman & CEO
    Phone: (440) 974-3770            Phone:  (716) 843-3908
    Email:  tsmith@ewst.com          Email:  dpawlowski@keiadvisors.com

SOURCE Gas Natural Inc.