Who is soliciting my proxy?

The board of directors of AGL Resources is providing you these proxy materials in connection with the solicitation of proxies to be voted at our 2013 annual meeting of shareholders and at any postponement or adjournment of the annual meeting. The proxies will be voted in accordance with your instructions by John W. Somerhalder II, our chairman, president and chief executive officer; Paul R. Shlanta, our executive vice president, general counsel and chief ethics and compliance officer; and Andrew W. Evans, our executive vice president and chief financial officer, or any of them. If your shares are held in our AGL Resources Inc. Retirement Savings Plus Plan (the “Retirement Savings Plus Plan” or the “AGL 401(k) Plan”), your proxy will be voted by Merrill Lynch Bank & Trust Co., FSB, which is the trustee for the AGL 401(k) Plan. If your shares are held in our Nicor Companies Savings Investment Plan, Nicor Gas Thrift Plan or Birdsall, Inc. Retirement Savings Plan (collectively, the “Nicor 401(k) Plans”), your proxy will be voted by The Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company, which is the trustee for the Nicor 401(k) Plans. The trustee of the AGL 401(k) Plan will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions and if you fail to provide voting instructions, the trustee will vote your shares in accordance with the discretionary instructions of the Administrative Committee of the 401(k) plans. It is expected that the Administrative Committee will instruct the AGL 401(k) Plan trustee to vote your shares in accordance with your telephone, internet or written proxy vote, or if you do not vote, “FOR” proposals 1, 2 and 3 and “AGAINST” proposal 4. The trustee of the Nicor 401(k) Plans will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions and if you fail to give the trustee proper instructions, it will vote your shares in the same proportion that other Nicor 401(k) Plans participants have voted their shares.

Why did I receive a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials (Notice) in the mail instead of a printed set of proxy materials?

Pursuant to the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), we are permitted to furnish our proxy materials over the internet to our shareholders by delivering a Notice in the mail. We are sending the Notice to certain record and beneficial shareholders. These shareholders have the ability to access the proxy materials, including our proxy statement and annual report, at www.proxyvote.com or to request a printed or email set of the proxy materials. Instructions on how to access the proxy materials over the internet or to receive a printed set may be found in the Notice. Shareholders who receive a printed set of proxy materials will not receive the Notice, but may still access our proxy materials over the internet at www.proxyvote.com.

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Shareholder Meeting to be Held on April 30, 2013.

The proxy statement and annual report are available at www.proxyvote.com

What will I be voting on?

You will be voting on:

How does the board recommend I vote on the proposals?

The board of directors recommends you vote “FOR” each of proposals 1, 2 and 3 and “AGAINST” proposal 4.

How do I vote?

Most of our shareholders have three options for submitting their votes:

If your AGL Resources shares are held in your name on the records maintained by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., our transfer agent (meaning you are a “shareholder of record”), please follow the instructions on your proxy card.

If your AGL Resources shares are held through a brokerage firm or bank (that is, in “street name”), your ability to vote by telephone or over the internet depends on the voting process of your brokerage firm or bank. Please follow the directions on your vote instruction card.

Regardless of whether your AGL Resources shares are held by you as a record shareholder or in street name, you may attend

the meeting and vote your shares in person. Please note that if your shares are held in street name and you want to vote in person, you must bring evidence of your stock ownership, such as a proxy obtained from your street name nominee (particularly if you want to vote your shares at the annual meeting) or your most recent brokerage account statement (in which case you will not be able to vote your shares at the meeting), together with valid picture identification.

Even if you plan to attend the meeting, we encourage you to vote your shares by telephone, internet or mail to simplify the voting process at the meeting.

How do I vote if my shares are held in one of the 401(k) plans?

If your AGL Resources shares are held in one of the 401(k) plans, only the trustee of the plan can vote your plan shares even if you attend the annual meeting in person. The plan trustee will vote your shares in accordance with your telephone, internet or written proxy vote. Please follow the instructions on your proxy card.

May I revoke my proxy?

Yes. You may revoke your proxy or vote instructions at any time before the annual meeting by voting again by telephone or via the internet or by timely signing and returning another proxy or vote instruction card with a later date. Additionally, if you are a shareholder of record or if you are a street name holder who has obtained a vote instruction card from your street name nominee, and you decide to attend the meeting and vote in person, you may request that any proxy or vote instruction card that you previously submitted not be used.

What if I don’t specify my choices when returning my proxy or vote instruction card?

If you return a signed and dated proxy or vote instruction card without indicating your vote, your shares will be voted “FOR” each of proposals 1, 2 and 3, “AGAINST” proposal 4 and in the discretion of the proxies on any other matter that may properly come before the meeting.

If you hold AGL Resources shares through one of our 401(k) plans and you return the proxy card but do not properly sign or date it or specify how you want your plan shares voted, it is expected that in the case of the AGL 401(k) Plan, the plan trustee, upon instruction from the Administrative Committee of the AGL 401(k) Plan, will vote your plan shares “FOR” each of proposals 1, 2 and 3, “AGAINST” proposal 4 and as instructed by the Administrative Committee on any other proposals that may properly come before the meeting. In the case of the Nicor 401(k) Plans, the plan trustee will vote your plan shares in the same proportion that other Nicor 401(k) Plans participants have voted their shares.

May my shares be voted if I don’t submit a proxy or voting instructions?

If your AGL Resources shares are registered in your name on the books kept by our transfer agent and you do not return a signed proxy and do not vote by telephone or via the internet or in person at the meeting, your shares will not be voted.

If your AGL Resources shares are held in street name and you do not submit any voting instructions, your brokerage firm or bank may or may not vote your shares with regard to each of the four proposals, depending on stock exchange rules. If your AGL Resources shares are held through one of the 401(k) plans and you do not return the proxy card for those plan shares and do not vote by telephone or the internet or in person, it is

expected that, in the case of the AGL 401(k) Plan, the plan trustee, upon instruction from the Administrative Committee of the AGL 401(k) Plan, will vote your shares “FOR” each of proposals 1, 2 and 3, “AGAINST” proposal 4 and as instructed by the Administrative Committee on any other proposals that may properly come before the meeting. In the case of the Nicor 401(k) Plans, the plan trustee will vote your shares in the same proportion that other Nicor 401(k) Plans participants have voted their shares.

How many shares may I vote?

As of the February 21, 2013, record date for voting at the annual meeting, 117,896,378 shares of common stock of AGL Resources were outstanding and entitled to be voted at the annual meeting. You are entitled to one vote for each share of AGL Resources common stock you owned on the record date. The 31,668 shares held by a trust which holds assets for our Nonqualified Savings Plan are included in the number of shares outstanding but are not eligible to be voted.

Is there a list of shareholders entitled to notice of the annual meeting?

A list of shareholders entitled to notice of the annual meeting will be available at the annual meeting for inspection by any shareholder.

How many votes must be present to hold the annual meeting?

A majority of the 117,896,378 shares of AGL Resources’ common stock outstanding on the record date, not including the 31,668 shares held by the Nonqualified Savings Plan trust which are not eligible to be voted, must be present, either in person or represented by proxy, to conduct the annual meeting.

How many votes are needed to approve each of the proposals?

The following are the vote requirements for each of the proposals:

What happens if a director nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes cast in his or her election?

As described under the caption, “Proposal 1—Election of Directors—General,” our bylaws provide that if a director nominee in an uncontested election is elected by the required plurality vote of the shareholders but does not receive the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares voted, the director must promptly tender his or her resignation to the board of directors following certification of the shareholder vote. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee must then recommend to the board of directors whether to accept or reject the tendered resignation or

whether to take other action. The board must then act on the tendered resignation and publicly disclose its decision and the rationale behind the decision within 90 days after the certification of the election results.

What if I vote “withhold authority” to elect directors?

In voting for the election of directors, a vote to “withhold authority” for the election of one or more director nominees will be counted for quorum purposes, but because the vote required to elect directors is a plurality vote, a vote to “withhold authority” will not affect the outcome of the election. However, a vote to “withhold authority” will be counted for purposes of determining whether a director nominee received the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the shares voted. Please see “What happens if a director nominee fails to receive a majority of the votes cast in his or her election? ” above.

How will abstentions and broker non-votes be treated?

Abstentions and broker non-votes will be treated as shares present and entitled to vote for quorum purposes. Abstentions and broker non-votes will not be treated as “votes cast,” and consequently they will not affect the outcome of the vote on the election of directors or the determination of whether a director nominee has received the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares voted (Proposal 1), the proposal to ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2), the proposal to adopt the non-binding resolution to approve the compensation of our named executive officers (Proposal 3) or the shareholder proposal described in this proxy statement (Proposal 4).

“Broker non-votes” occur on a matter up for vote when a broker, bank or other holder of shares you own in “street name” is not

permitted to vote on that particular matter without instructions from you, you do not give such instructions and the broker or other nominee indicates on its proxy card, or otherwise notifies us, that it does not have authority to vote its shares on that matter. Whether a broker has authority to vote its shares on uninstructed matters is determined by stock exchange rules.

Could other matters be decided at the annual meeting?

We do not know of any other matters that will be considered at the annual meeting. If a matter that is not listed on the proxy or vote instruction card is properly brought before the annual meeting in accordance with Section 1.2 of our bylaws, the persons named as proxies will vote in accordance with their judgment of what is in the best interest of the Company, based on the discretionary voting authority conferred on them by the proxy and vote instruction cards.

Who will count the votes?

Representatives of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will count the votes and act as inspector of elections.

Where and when will I be able to find the voting results?

We will post the voting results on our web site at www.aglresources.com within four business days after the annual meeting. You also may find the results in a Current Report on Form 8-K, which we expect to file with the SEC within four business days following the annual meeting.

What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

It means that you have multiple accounts with brokerage firms, banks and/or our transfer agent. Please vote all of these shares. We recommend that you contact your broker,

bank and/or our transfer agent to consolidate as many accounts as possible under the same name and address. All communications concerning accounts for shares registered in your name on the books kept by our transfer agent, including address changes, name changes, inquiries to transfer shares and similar issues, may be handled by making a toll-free call to Wells Fargo Shareowner Services at (800) 468-9716.

What do I need to bring with me if I want to attend the annual meeting?

The annual meeting is open to all holders of our common stock. To attend the annual meeting, you will need to bring an admission ticket and valid picture identification. If your shares are registered in your name on the books kept by our transfer agent or your shares are held in one of the 401(k) plans, your admission ticket is part of your proxy card or may be printed from the internet when you vote online.

If your shares are held in street name by your brokerage firm or bank, you will need to bring evidence of your stock ownership, such as a proxy obtained from your street name nominee (particularly if you want to vote your shares at the annual meeting) or your most recent brokerage account statement (in which case you will not be able to vote your shares at the annual meeting), together with valid picture identification. You may also request us to send you an admission ticket. If you do not have either an admission ticket or proof that you own our common stock, together with valid picture identification, you may not be admitted to the meeting.

What happens if the annual meeting is postponed or adjourned?

Your proxy will still be valid and may be voted at a postponed or adjourned meeting, unless the board of directors fixes a new record date for the postponed or adjourned meeting, which the board is required to do if the

postponement or adjournment is for more than 120 days. If the meeting is postponed or adjourned, you will still be able to change or revoke your proxy until it is voted.

When are shareholder proposals for the 2014 annual meeting due?

Our bylaws require shareholders to give us advance notice of any shareholder nominations of directors and of any other matters shareholders wish to present for action at an annual meeting of shareholders. The required notice must be given within a prescribed time frame, which is calculated by reference to the date of the proxy statement relating to our most recent annual meeting. Accordingly, with respect to our 2014 annual meeting of shareholders, our bylaws require notice to be provided to our Corporate Secretary at AGL Resources Inc., P.O. Box 4569, Location 1466, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4569 no later than November 15, 2013. If a shareholder fails to provide timely notice of a proposal to be presented at the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders, the persons designated as proxies by the board of directors will have discretionary authority to vote, and the respective trustees of the 401(k) plans will vote in accordance with the instructions of the Administrative Committee

of the 401(k) plans based on its discretionary authority, on any such proposal that may come before the meeting.

If you are interested in submitting a proposal for inclusion in our proxy statement for the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders, you need to follow the procedures outlined in the SEC’s Rule 14a-8. To be eligible for inclusion, your shareholder proposal intended for inclusion in the proxy statement for the 2014 annual meeting of shareholders must be received no later than November 15, 2013, by our Corporate Secretary at the address above.

This deadline does not apply to questions a shareholder may wish to ask at the annual meeting.

Who pays the costs associated with this proxy solicitation?

AGL Resources pays the expenses of soliciting proxies. We may consider the engagement of a proxy solicitation firm to assist in the solicitation of proxies. Additionally, proxies may be solicited on our behalf by directors, officers and employees, in person or by telephone, facsimile or electronic transmission. Directors, officers and employees will not be paid additional fees for those services.

Board of Directors

Our business affairs are managed under the direction of the board of directors in accordance with the Georgia Business Corporation Code, our articles of incorporation and our bylaws. The role of the board of directors is to govern our affairs for the benefit of our shareholders and other constituencies, which include our employees, customers, suppliers, creditors and the communities in which we do business. The board strives to ensure the success and continuity of our business through the appointment of qualified executive management, overseen by the board.

Director Independence

Pursuant to New York Stock Exchange listing standards, our board of directors has adopted a formal set of categorical Standards for Determining Director Independence. In accordance with these Standards, a director must be determined to have no material relationship with the Company other than as a director in order to be considered an independent director. The Standards specify the criteria by which the independence of our directors will be determined, including strict guidelines for directors and their immediate family members with respect to past employment or affiliation with the Company or its independent registered public accounting firm. The Standards also set forth independence criteria applicable to members of the Audit Committee, the Compensation and Management Development Committee and the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee of the board of directors. These Standards are available on our website at www.aglresources.com.

In accordance with these Standards, the board undertook in February 2013 an annual review of director independence. Based on this review, the board has affirmatively determined

that, as to each current non-employee director, no material relationship exists that would interfere with the exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director and that each current non-employee director qualifies as “independent” in accordance with the Standards and the independence standards of the New York Stock Exchange. John W. Somerhalder II, our chairman, president and chief executive officer, is not independent because of his employment by the Company.

Mr. Somerhalder will not participate in any action of the board related to his compensation or any other matters requiring action by only non-employee directors.

In making these independence determinations, the board considered that in the ordinary course of business, transactions may occur between the Company and its subsidiaries and companies at which some of our directors are or have been directors, officers or employees. The board also considered that the Company and its subsidiaries may make charitable contributions to not-for-profit organizations where our directors or their immediate family members serve or are executive officers. More specifically, the board of directors considered certain related party transactions between our Company and Mr. Olivera, a member of our board of directors. For more detailed information about these transactions and the board’s determination that Mr. Olivera is independent notwithstanding these transactions, please see “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions.”

Policy on Related Person Transactions

The board of directors recognizes that related person transactions present a heightened risk of conflicts of interest and, therefore, has adopted a written policy with respect to related person transactions. For the purpose

of the policy, a “Related Person” is (a) each executive officer as defined under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the “Exchange Act,” (b) each executive and senior vice president of AGL Resources, (c) each nominee for or member of the board of directors, (d) each holder of more than 5% of our common stock, or a “Significant Shareholder,” and (e) any immediate family member, as defined under the Exchange Act, of the persons listed in (a) through (d) above. A “Related Person Transaction” is a transaction between us and any Related Person, other than (1) transactions available to all employees or customers generally; (2) transactions involving less than $120,000 when aggregated with all similar transactions; (3) transactions excluded from disclosure in paragraphs four through seven of the instructions to Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K of the Exchange Act; and (4) charitable contributions by the Company to a charitable organization with which a Related Person’s only relationship is as an employee (other than an executive officer), if the aggregate amount involved does not exceed the greater of $1,000,000 or 2% of the charitable organization’s annual receipts for the preceding fiscal year.

Under the policy, when management becomes aware of a Related Person Transaction involving a dollar amount that is less than two percent of either the Company’s consolidated gross revenues or the consolidated gross revenues of the Related Person, or any affiliate of such Related Person, for the prior fiscal year, management reports the transaction to the Chairman of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee. When management becomes aware of a Related Person Transaction involving a dollar amount that is equal to or exceeds two percent of either the Company’s consolidated gross revenues or the consolidated gross revenues of the Related Person, or any affiliate of such Related Person, for the prior fiscal year, management reports the transaction to

the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and requests approval or ratification of the transaction.

Transactions requiring approval or ratification must be approved by a majority of the disinterested members of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee. The Chairman will report to the full Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee at its next regularly scheduled committee meeting any related person transactions that are presented to him or her. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee will report to the full board all Related Person Transactions presented to it.

Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight

Our Company is led by Mr. John Somerhalder, who has served as our president and chief executive officer since March 2006 and our chairman, president and chief executive officer since October 2007. Our board of directors consists of Mr. Somerhalder and fifteen independent directors. Each of the standing committees of our board of directors is chaired by an independent director and each of our Audit, Compensation and Management Development and Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility committees is comprised entirely of independent directors.

Under our Guidelines on Significant Corporate Governance Issues, or our Corporate Governance Guidelines, a copy of which is available on our web site at www.aglresources.com, if the chairman of the board of directors is an executive officer or employee of the Company, then the board of directors shall appoint, from among the independent directors, a lead director. Mr. Arthur E. Johnson currently serves as our Lead Director.

The board of directors appoints the Lead Director for a term ending on the earlier of

(a) three years from the date of appointment or (b) the last day of the individual’s service on the board of directors. The Lead Director: (a) serves as chairman of the Executive Committee of the board of directors; (b) presides at the executive sessions of non-management directors; (c) collaborates with our chairman, president and chief executive officer, our general counsel and our corporate secretary on setting the annual calendar for all regular meetings of the board and its standing committees; (d) maintains close contact with the chairperson of each standing committee; (e) oversees the Company’s policy on communications between shareholders or other interested parties and non-management directors; and (f) communicates the results of the annual evaluation of the chief executive officer to the chief executive officer on behalf of the board of directors.

Our Audit Committee has the responsibility to review with management the Company’s (i) policies governing the process by which risk assessment and risk management are undertaken; and (ii) major financial risk exposures and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures. Our Finance and Risk Management Committee has the responsibility to (i) review with management the steps taken by management to ensure compliance with the Company’s risk management policies and procedures relating to interest rate risk, currency risk, credit risk, commodity risk, insurable risks and derivatives related to any of the foregoing; (ii) review steps taken by management to establish and monitor trading and risk management systems and controls at the Company’s asset management and optimization businesses and to ensure compliance at such businesses with risk management policies and procedures applicable to such businesses; and (iii) review management’s assessment of controls and procedures associated with such businesses’ management of transactions with affiliates and any reporting obligations to state or federal regulatory authorities. Our chief risk officer

provides a quarterly report to the Finance and Risk Management Committee and meets in executive sessions with the Finance and Risk Management Committee at each regularly scheduled meeting. Each of the other committees of the board of directors has principal responsibility for reviewing and discussing with management those risk exposures: (i) specified in their charters or (ii) identified from time to time by the committees themselves or by the Audit Committee.

We determined our current board leadership structure is appropriate and helps ensure proper risk oversight for the Company, for a number of reasons, the most significant of which are the following:

If you wish to communicate directly with (i) the board of directors generally, (ii) the presiding director of executive sessions of non-management directors (our Lead Director), or (iii) non-management directors as a group, you should call the Company’s Ethics and Compliance Helpline at (800) 350-1014 or at www.mycompliancereport.com using the

access ID, “AGL.” Calls to the helpline and reports made via the website, if you choose, can be made anonymously.

Committees of the Board

The board of directors has established five standing committees to assist it in discharging its duties. Actions taken by any committee of the board are reported to the board, usually at the board meeting next following a committee meeting. Each standing committee has adopted a written charter, which is available on our web site at www.aglresources.com and is available upon request to our Corporate Secretary at AGL Resources Inc., P.O. Box 4569, Location 1466, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4569. The committees of the board and their members at December 31, 2012 were as shown in the following table.

Audit Committee

The Audit Committee met eight times during 2012. The Audit Committee’s primary function is to assist the board of directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. Among other things, the Audit Committee reviews (1) the integrity of our financial statements, including our internal control over financial reporting, (2) our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, (3) the independent registered public accounting firm’s qualifications and independence, (4) the performance of our internal audit function, and (5) the performance of the independent registered public accounting firm. Our chief financial officer, chief ethics and compliance officer, chief audit executive, chief accounting officer and controller, and representatives of our independent registered public accounting firm each provide a quarterly report to and meet in separate executive sessions with the Audit Committee each quarter.

The board of directors has determined that all members of the Audit Committee satisfy the enhanced independence standards applicable to all members of the Audit Committee under the independence requirements of the SEC, the New York Stock Exchange and the Company’s Standards for Determining Director Independence. The board also has determined that all members of the Audit Committee meet the financial literacy requirements of the New York Stock Exchange listing standards. The board has further determined that Henry C. Wolf, the Audit Committee Chair, is an “audit committee financial expert” within the meaning of SEC regulations. Information regarding Mr. Wolf’s qualification as an “audit committee financial expert” is included in his biographical information under the caption, “Proposal 1—Election of Directors.”

Additional information regarding the Audit Committee and its functions and responsibilities is included in this proxy statement under the captions “Audit Committee Report” and “Proposal 2—

Ratification of the Appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for 2013.”

Compensation and Management Development Committee

The Compensation and Management Development Committee met eight times during 2012. All members of the Compensation and Management Development Committee are independent, non-employee directors, as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and our Standards for Determining Director Independence. Among other things, the Compensation and Management Development Committee assists the board of directors in its efforts to achieve its goal of maximizing the long-term total return to shareholders by establishing policies by which officers, directors and employees are to be compensated in accordance with the board’s compensation philosophy and objectives and by overseeing management succession and executive development processes.

The board of directors delegated to the Compensation and Management Development Committee the following areas of responsibility that are more fully described in the Compensation and Management Development Committee’s charter: (1) evaluation of the chief executive officer, (2) succession and development planning for executive officers, (3) compensation of non-employee members of the board of directors, (4) compensation of the executive officers, including salary, short- and long-term incentives, and employment or severance arrangements, (5) establishment of performance objectives for executive officers under the Company’s short- and long-term incentive compensation plans and determination of the attainment of such performance objectives, and (6) oversight of benefit plans and administration of long-term incentive plans.

The Compensation and Management Development Committee has delegated to our chief executive officer the authority to grant equity awards to employees of the Company solely in connection with non-annual grants to employees other than executive officers. The Compensation and Management Development Committee has established narrowly defined, pre-approved parameters regarding the terms and conditions of grants under the delegated authority, including the eligible employee groups, the maximum number of shares subject to the delegation, the determination of the exercise price and other terms and conditions of the awards. The Compensation and Management Development Committee also adopted a stock option grant policy that provides additional terms and conditions for making grants. See “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Grants of Long-Term Incentive Awards” for more detail concerning our stock option grant policy.

Our chief executive officer, based on the performance evaluations of the other executive officers, recommends to the Compensation and Management Development Committee compensation for those executive officers. The executive officers, including our chief executive officer, also provide recommendations to the Compensation and Management Development Committee from time to time related to compensation philosophy, program design, compliance, performance measures and competitive strategy.

The Compensation and Management Development Committee’s charter provides that the Compensation and Management Development Committee, in its sole discretion, has the authority to retain a compensation consultant. Accordingly, Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc., or F.W. Cook, was retained directly by the Compensation and Management Development Committee to assist it in 2012. F.W. Cook’s role is to provide expertise and data as needed by the Compensation and

Management Development Committee pertaining to all aspects of executive and director compensation, including but not limited to advice and counsel as to the amount and form of executive and director compensation, and to advise the Compensation and Management Development Committee on emerging trends, best practices and regulatory practices.

In December 2012, the Compensation Committee evaluated the independence of F.W. Cook in light of new SEC rules and proposed NYSE listing standards, which require consideration of the following factors:

The Compensation Committee discussed these considerations and concluded that the engagement of F.W. Cook and the services provided to the Compensation Committee by F.W. Cook did not raise any conflict of interest.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee did not meet during 2012. The Executive Committee may meet during intervals between board meetings and

has the same authority as the full board of directors, subject to limitations imposed by law or our bylaws.

Finance and Risk Management Committee

The Finance and Risk Management Committee met four times during 2012. The Finance and Risk Management Committee’s primary function is to assist the board of directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibilities. Among other things, the Finance and Risk Management Committee oversees (1) the management of our balance sheet including leverage, liquidity, funding sources, and related matters, (2) the annual capital budget and certain capital projects, (3) management’s assessments, actions, processes and procedures concerning our exposure to risks identified in the Finance and Risk Management Committee’s charter, and (4) any other matters that the board may delegate to the Finance and Risk Management Committee from time to time. Our chief risk officer provides a quarterly report to and meets in executive session with the Finance and Risk Management Committee at each regularly scheduled meeting.

Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee

The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee met five times during 2012. All members of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee are independent, non-employee directors, as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and our Standards for Determining Director Independence. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee’s primary responsibilities include (1) identifying individuals qualified to serve on the board of directors and recommending director nominees for selection by the full board of directors or shareholders, (2) evaluating, formulating and recommending to the board of directors corporate governance policies, and

(3) overseeing the Company’s position on corporate social and environmental responsibilities.

Nomination of Director Candidates. The board of directors is responsible for recommending director candidates for election by the shareholders and for electing directors to fill vacancies or newly created directorships. The board of directors has delegated the screening and evaluation process for director candidates to the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee, which identifies, evaluates and recruits highly qualified director candidates and recommends them to the board of directors. Potential candidates for director may come to the attention of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee through current directors, management, professional search firms, shareholders or other persons.

If the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee has either identified a prospective nominee or determined that an additional or replacement director is required, the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee may take such measures that it considers appropriate in connection with its evaluation of a director candidate, including candidate interviews, engagement of an outside firm to gather additional information and inquiry of persons with knowledge of the candidate’s qualifications and character. In its evaluation of director candidates, including the members of the board of directors eligible for reelection, the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee considers the current size and composition of the board of directors and the needs of the board of directors and the respective committees of the board in view of the criteria for directors described in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, a copy of which is available on our web site at www.aglresources.com.

The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee will consider director nominees proposed by shareholders. A shareholder may recommend a person for nomination for election to our board of directors by writing to our Corporate Secretary at AGL Resources Inc., P.O. Box 4569, Location 1466, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4569. Pursuant to our Corporate Governance Guidelines, each submission must include:

A shareholder’s recommendation for a candidate for nomination to be elected at the next annual meeting of shareholders must be received by our corporate secretary no later than 45 days prior to the end of the year preceding such annual meeting of shareholders. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee will evaluate these recommendations in the same

manner as it evaluates all other nominees, using the criteria described in our Corporate Governance Guidelines.

The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee periodically engages a third party search firm to identify possible director candidates for the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee’s consideration based on skills and characteristics identified by the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and in light of gaps in board composition that the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee may identify from time to time as the issues facing the board evolve. Such skills and characteristics desirable in the context of the then current make-up of the board of directors may include diversity, age, business or professional background, financial literacy and expertise, availability, commitment, independence and other relevant criteria.

Practices for Considering Diversity. The charter of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee provides that it shall review, at least annually, the appropriate skills and characteristics of members of the board of directors in the context of the then current make-up of the board. This assessment includes the following factors: diversity (including diversity of skills, background and experience); age; business or professional background; financial literacy and expertise; availability and commitment; independence; and other criteria that the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee or the full board finds to be relevant. It is the practice of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee to consider these factors when screening and evaluating candidates for nomination to the board of directors.

Board and Committee Meetings

Members of the board are kept informed through reports routinely presented at board and committee meetings by our chief executive officer and other officers and through other means. During 2012, the board of directors held six meetings. Each director attended 75% or more of the aggregate of all meetings of the board and each committee on which he or she served.

Executive Sessions without Management

To promote open discussion among the non-management directors, the board of directors schedules regular executive sessions in which the non-management directors meet without management’s participation. Such sessions are scheduled to occur at every regularly scheduled board meeting. The presiding director at such executive sessions is the Lead Director and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the board of directors. During 2012, the board met in executive session six times.

Communications with Directors

Shareholders and other interested parties may communicate with our board of directors or, alternatively, with the presiding director of executive sessions of our non-management directors or with the non-management directors as a group via our Ethics and Compliance Helpline at (800) 350-1014 or at www.mycompliancereport.com. A copy of our Procedures for Communicating with the Board of Directors of AGL Resources Inc. is available on our web site at www.aglresources.com and is available in print to any shareholder who requests it from our Corporate Secretary at AGL Resources Inc., P.O. Box 4569, Location 1466, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4569.

Ethics and Compliance Program

The board of directors is responsible for overseeing management’s implementation of

the Company’s ethics and compliance program to ensure that our business is conducted in a consistently legal and ethical manner. As part of the ethics and compliance program, our Company has established, and the board of directors has approved, a code of conduct entitled “Commitment to Integrity and Ethics—Our Code of Conduct and Ethics.” Our Code of Conduct and Ethics governs the way we treat our customers and co-workers, guides our community interactions, and strengthens our commitment to excellence and integrity. The Code of Conduct and Ethics covers a wide range of professional conduct, including environmental, health and safety standards, employment policies, conflicts of interest, accuracy of records, fair dealing, insider trading and strict adherence to all laws and regulations applicable to the conduct of our business. Under the Code of Conduct and Ethics, employees are required to conduct the Company’s activities in an ethical and lawful manner and all employees are expected to report any situation where they believe our internal policies or external laws are being violated. Our Code of Conduct and Ethics applies to our directors, officers and all of our employees.

In addition, the board of directors has adopted a Code of Ethics for the Chief Executive Officer and the Senior Financial Officers, or our Officers Code of Ethics, designed to deter wrongdoing and promote the following: honest and ethical conduct; full, fair, accurate, timely and understandable disclosure in documents filed with or submitted to the SEC; compliance with applicable governmental laws, rules and regulations; prompt internal reporting of violations of the Officers Code of Ethics; and accountability for adherence to the Officers Code of Ethics.

Any waiver of the Code of Conduct and Ethics or Officers Code of Ethics for an executive officer or, where applicable, for a member of the board of directors, requires the approval of the board of directors or a duly authorized

committee of the board and will be promptly disclosed on our website at www.aglresources.com. No waivers have been granted under the codes.

The board of directors also has adopted Guidelines on Significant Corporate Governance Issues, or our Corporate Governance Guidelines, that set forth guidelines for the operation of the board of directors and its committees. The board periodically reviews our governance practices and procedures, evaluating them against corporate governance best practices.

Our Code of Conduct and Ethics, our Officers Code of Ethics and our Corporate Governance Guidelines are available on our website at www.aglresources.com. They also are available to any shareholder upon request to our Corporate Secretary at AGL Resources Inc. at P.O. Box 4569, Location 1466, Atlanta, Georgia 30302-4569.

Directors and Executive Officers

The following table presents the number of shares of AGL Resources common stock beneficially owned by each director, each named executive officer and by all executive officers and directors as a group as of December 31, 2012, based on information furnished by them to us. Our named executive officers are those individuals named in the Summary Compensation Table under the caption “Executive Compensation.”

Beneficial ownership as reported in the table below has been determined in accordance with SEC regulations and includes shares of common stock which may be acquired within

60 days after December 31, 2012, upon the exercise of outstanding stock options but excludes shares and share equivalents held under deferral plans which are disclosed in a separate column. Unless otherwise indicated, all directors and executive officers have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares shown. As of December 31, 2012, no individual director, named executive officer, or executive officers and directors as a group owned beneficially 1% or more of our common stock.

General

A director who is an employee of the Company receives no additional compensation for his or her services as a director. A director who is not an employee (a non-employee director) receives compensation for his or her services as described in the following paragraphs. All directors are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in connection with attendance at board and committee meetings.

Annual Retainer

Each non-employee director receives an annual retainer for service as a director on the first day of each annual service term. The amount and form of the annual retainer are fixed from time to time by resolution of the board. For 2012, the annual retainer was $190,000, of which $95,000, or the Cash Portion, was payable in cash and $95,000, or the Equity Portion, was payable in shares of our common stock on the first day of the annual service term. Alternatively, a director may choose to receive his or her entire retainer (including the Cash Portion) in shares of our common stock, or to defer the retainer under the Common Stock Equivalent Plan.

Amounts deferred under the Common Stock Equivalent Plan are invested in common stock equivalents that track the performance of our common stock and are credited with equivalents to dividend payments that are made on our common stock. Common stock equivalents may not be voted or transferred. At the end of a participating non-employee director’s board service, he or she receives a cash distribution based on the then-current market value of his or her common stock equivalents and dividend equivalents.

Non-employee directors do not receive additional compensation for attending board or committee meetings.

Committee Chair and Lead Director Retainer

Committee chairs receive an additional annual retainer on the first day of each annual service term. For 2012, the additional annual retainer for each committee chair was $15,000, and the additional annual retainer for the Lead Director was $25,000. The committee chair and Lead Director retainers were payable, at the election of each director, in cash or shares of our common stock, or they were deferred under the Common Stock Equivalent Plan.

Share Ownership and Holding Period Requirements for Non-Employee Directors

In order to serve on our board, directors are required to own shares of our common stock. Our share ownership guidelines for non-employee directors require that non-employee directors own shares of our common stock having a value of at least $475,000, which represents five times the value of the Equity Portion of the annual retainer. Each director has five years from the date of his or her initial election to meet the share ownership requirement. Common stock equivalents and shares issuable upon the exercise of vested stock options are included in the determination of the ownership guideline amount. We believe that the equity component of non-employee

director compensation serves to further align the interests of the non-employee directors with the interests of our shareholders.

Under the terms of the Amended and Restated 2006 Non-Employee Directors Equity Compensation Plan (which we refer to as the 2006 Directors Plan), non-employee directors are required to hold shares awarded under such plan until the earlier of (i) five years from the date of the initial stock award or subsequent stock grant; (ii) termination of the non-employee director’s service; or (iii) a change in control of the Company. Shares subject to the holding period include all shares issued in connection with the initial stock award under the plan and all shares issued under the plan in payment of all or part of a director’s annual retainer.

The board of directors presently consists of sixteen members, fifteen of whom are non-employee directors. At the 2013 annual meeting, all sixteen directors will stand for re-election.

Vote Requirements for Election

Our bylaws provide that directors are elected by a plurality of the votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. Our bylaws, while not changing the requirement for a plurality vote in the election of directors, require additionally that any director nominee in an uncontested election who does not receive the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast (including votes to withhold authority) with respect to that director’s election must promptly tender his or her resignation to the board following certification of the shareholder vote. The requirement that a director tender his or her resignation if he or she does not receive a majority of the votes cast does not apply in the case of a contested election where the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected.

Following such a tender of resignation, the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee, excluding any director tendering his or her resignation if he or she is a member of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee, will make a recommendation to the board as to whether to accept or reject the resignation or whether other action should be taken. The board will then act on the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee’s recommendation and publicly disclose its decision and rationale within 90 days after the date of the certification of the election results. The director who tenders his or her resignation will

not participate in the board’s decision. If the director’s resignation is not accepted by the board, the director shall continue to serve until his or her successor is duly elected or until his or her earlier death, resignation or removal. If the director’s resignation is accepted by the board of directors, any resulting vacancy may be filled as provided in the bylaws or the board of directors may decrease the size of the board.

If a majority of the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee does not receive a majority of the votes cast in their respective elections, then the independent members of the board who did not fail to receive a majority of the votes cast will appoint a committee from among themselves to consider the resignation offers and recommend to the board whether to accept them. If the only directors who did not fail to receive a majority of the votes cast constitute three or fewer directors, all directors may participate in the action regarding whether to accept the resignation offers.

Board Member and Nominee Qualifications

The experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that our board of directors considered in concluding that each of the current members of the board of directors and each of the nominees for election at the 2013 annual meeting should serve as a director include: (1) geographic representation (representative of our service territories); (2) diversity of professional skills and experience; (3) diversity of age, gender and race; (4) energy industry experience; and (5) community relations within our service territories.

When an incumbent director is up for re-election, the Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee reviews

the performance, skills and characteristics of such incumbent director before making a determination to recommend that the full board nominate him or her for re-election.

A description of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes and skills that led our board of directors to conclude that each of the continuing members of the board of directors and each of the nominees should serve as a director follows the biographical information of each director and nominee below.

The board of directors, based on the recommendation of its Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee, has nominated Sandra N. Bane, Thomas D. Bell, Jr., Norman R. Bobins, Charles R. Crisp, Brenda J. Gaines, Arthur E. Johnson, Wyck A. Knox, Jr., Dennis M. Love, Charles H. McTier, Dean R. O’Hare, Armando J. Olivera, John E. Rau, James A. Rubright,

John W. Somerhalder II, Bettina M. Whyte and Henry C. Wolf for election as directors at the annual meeting. All of the nominees are current directors of the Company. If elected, each of the nominees will hold office for a one-year term expiring at the annual meeting of shareholders in 2014. Each of the nominees has agreed to serve as a director if elected by the shareholders.

If any nominee becomes unable to stand for election, the board may:

The Audit Committee of the board of directors is composed of eight directors, each of whom is an independent director, as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and the Company’s Standards for Determining Director Independence. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the board of directors, a copy of which is available on the Company’s web site at www.aglresources.com.

The Audit Committee reviews the Company’s financial reporting process on behalf of the board of directors. In fulfilling its responsibilities, the Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2012 with management and the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Management is responsible for the Company’s financial statements and the financial reporting process, including the system of internal control over financial reporting. PricewaterhouseCoopers is responsible for expressing an opinion on the conformity of those audited financial statements with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

The Audit Committee has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers the matters required to be discussed by Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended, regarding PricewaterhouseCoopers’ judgments about the quality of the Company’s accounting principles as applied in its financial reporting. In addition, the Audit Committee has discussed with PricewaterhouseCoopers its independence from the Company and from Company management, including the matters in the written disclosures and the letter

provided to the Audit Committee by PricewaterhouseCoopers as required by the applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The Audit Committee has concluded that PricewaterhouseCoopers is independent from the Company and its management.

Based on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit Committee recommended that the board of directors approve the inclusion of the audited financial statements in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for 2012 for filing with the SEC.

Henry C. Wolf (Chair)

Sandra N. Bane

Norman R. Bobins

Brenda J. Gaines

Wyck A. Knox, Jr.

Dennis M. Love

Charles H. McTier

Dean R. O’Hare

The information contained in the Audit Committee Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference in such filing.

Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP served as our independent registered public accounting firm and audited our annual financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2012.

PricewaterhouseCoopers has served as our principal independent registered public accounting firm since 2003.

The Audit Committee has appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to be our

independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2013. The shareholders are asked to ratify this appointment at the annual meeting. In the event shareholders do not ratify the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers as our independent registered public accounting firm for 2013, the Audit Committee will review its future selection of our independent registered public accounting firm.

Representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers will attend the annual meeting and will have the opportunity to make a statement if they so desire. They will also be available to answer appropriate questions.

Set forth below is a description of the nature of the services that PricewaterhouseCoopers provided to us in exchange for such fees.

Audit Fees

Represents fees PricewaterhouseCoopers billed us for the audit of our annual financial statements and the review of our quarterly financial statements and for services normally provided in connection with statutory and regulatory filings. These include fees incurred in meeting the internal control over financial reporting compliance requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of

2002, as well as audit fees for Northern Illinois Gas Company, a separate registrant doing business as Nicor Gas Company; SouthStar Energy Services LLC, a joint venture currently owned 85% by our subsidiary, Georgia Natural Gas Company, and 15% by Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc.; and audits of several other subsidiaries.

Audit-Related Fees

Represents fees PricewaterhouseCoopers billed us for audit and review-related services, including services relating to the issuance of a SSAE 16 review report on internal controls

associated with Atlanta Gas Light Company’s customer information system, prepared for certificated retail marketers of natural gas in Georgia, potential acquisitions and dispositions and the audit of employee benefit plan financial statements.

Tax Fees

Represents fees PricewaterhouseCoopers billed us for tax compliance, planning and advisory services.

All Other Fees

Represents fees PricewaterhouseCoopers billed us for our attendance of accounting and tax conferences.

The Audit Committee pre-approved all of the above audit, audit-related, tax and other fees of PricewaterhouseCoopers, as required by the pre-approval policy described below.

Audit Committee Audit and Non-Audit Services Approval Policy

Consistent with rules and regulations pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 regarding registered public accounting firm independence, the Audit Committee has responsibility for appointing, setting compensation and overseeing the work of the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm. In recognition of this responsibility, the Audit Committee adopted a policy that requires specific Audit Committee approval before any services are provided by the independent registered public accounting firm.

Prior to engagement of the independent registered public accounting firm for the next year’s audit, management submits to the Audit Committee for approval a summary of services expected to be rendered during that year and an estimate of the related fees for (1) audit services, (2) audit-related services, (3) tax services, and (4) all other services. The Audit Committee pre-approves these services by category of service and budget amount. The services and fees must be deemed compatible with the maintenance of the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence. The Audit Committee requires the independent registered public accounting firm and management to report actual fees versus the budget periodically throughout the year by category of service. During the year, circumstances may arise when it may become necessary to engage the independent registered public accounting firm for additional services not contemplated in the original pre-approval. In those instances, the Audit Committee requires that management obtain specific approval from the Audit Committee before engaging the independent registered public accounting firm.

The Audit Committee may delegate approval authority to one or more of its members. The member to whom such authority is delegated must present for ratification any approval decisions to the Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

The Compensation and Management Development Committee of the board of directors is composed of seven directors, each of whom is an independent director, as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and the Company’s Standards for Determining Director Independence. The Compensation and Management Development Committee operates under a written charter adopted by the board of directors, a copy of which is available on the Company’s web site at www.aglresources.com.

The Compensation and Management Development Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” or CD&A, section of this proxy statement required by Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC. Based on the Committee’s review and discussions with management, the Committee recommended

to the board of directors that the CD&A be included in the Company’s 2012 annual report on Form 10-K and in this proxy statement.

Bettina M. Whyte (Chair)

Sandra N. Bane

Thomas D. Bell, Jr.

Norman R. Bobins

Charles R. Crisp

James A. Rubright

Henry C. Wolf

The information contained in the Compensation and Management Development Committee Report shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor shall such information be incorporated by reference into any future filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate it by reference in such filing.

The following directors served on the Compensation and Management Development Committee at December 31, 2012: Sandra N. Bane, Thomas D. Bell, Jr., Norman R. Bobins, Charles R. Crisp, James A. Rubright, Bettina M. Whyte (Chair) and Henry C. Wolf. None of such persons was, during 2012 or previously,

an officer or employee of AGL Resources or any of its subsidiaries and each such person was an independent director as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange and our Standards for Determining Director Independence.

The following section is a discussion and analysis of our compensation objectives and policies, the elements of our compensation program, and the material factors considered in setting the compensation for our named executive officers listed below:

Executive Summary

The following is a brief overview of the information provided in this section.

General

2012 Business Developments

2012 Performance and Compensation

Reflecting our pay for performance compensation philosophy, the compensation of our named executive officers was directly affected by our financial results in 2012, both with respect to the amount of annual incentive

and long-term equity awards earned and the underlying value of long-term equity awards.

Governance and Evolving Compensation Practices. The Compensation Committee and Company management are mindful of evolving practices in executive compensation and corporate governance. In response, we have adopted certain policies and practices that are in keeping with “best practices” in several areas. For example:

Consideration of Advisory Shareholder Vote on Executive Compensation

At the annual meeting of shareholders on May 1, 2012, holders of over 97.4% of the voted shares approved the compensation of the Company’s named executive officers, including the Company’s compensation practices and principles and their implementation, as disclosed in the 2012 Proxy Statement. Similarly, at the annual meeting of shareholders on May 3, 2011, the advisory vote on executive compensation received the positive support of over 97.5% of the voted shares. The Compensation Committee welcomes and appreciates and

values the views of our shareholders. In considering the results of these recent advisory votes on executive compensation, the Committee concluded that the compensation paid to our executive officers and the Company’s overall pay practices continue to enjoy strong shareholder support.

In light of this support, the Compensation Committee decided to retain our general approach to executive compensation for 2012 with an emphasis on short and long-term incentive compensation that rewards our senior executives when they successfully implement our business plan and, in turn, deliver value for our shareholders.

The Committee will continue to monitor best practices, future advisory votes on executive compensation and other shareholder feedback to guide it in evaluating the alignment of the Company’s executive compensation program with the interests of the Company and its shareholders. As described in more detail on page 60, the Compensation Committee has made several significant changes to the compensation program for 2013. The Committee invites our shareholders to communicate any concerns or opinions on executive pay directly to the Board. Please refer to “Board Leadership Structure and Role in Risk Oversight” on page 8 for information about communicating with the Board.

Based upon the preference expressed by our shareholders at the 2011 annual meeting, the Board has implemented an annual advisory vote on executive compensation. The next required vote on the frequency of shareholder votes on executive compensation is scheduled to occur at the 2017 annual meeting.

Goal of our Executive Compensation Program

The goal of our executive compensation program is to attract, retain, motivate and reward the executive talent necessary to

achieve our strategic and financial objectives and to foster long-term value creation for the Company and its shareholders. In support of this, our program is intended to:

Competitive Market Information

Each year the Compensation Committee works with F.W. Cook to review the market competitiveness of our executive compensation programs and levels and to re-evaluate the companies included in our comparator groups to ensure that we have the appropriate marketplace focus. For 2012, F.W. Cook prepared a competitive assessment of our executives’ base salaries, target annual incentive awards, and long-term incentive opportunities against an “energy industry database” and an “executive compensation peer group.”

Energy Industry Database

For 2012, the “energy industry database” included energy services companies in Towers Watson’s Energy Industry Services Compensation Database with assets or revenue between one-third and three times ours. This group was used as the primary source to assess competitive levels of compensation for our executives. We believe this larger selection of companies provides more accurate and reliable information than a smaller peer group and better reflects the labor market for our executive talent.

For 2012, our energy industry database companies were:

Allegheny Energy, Inc.

Alliant Energy Corp.

Ameren Energy Resources Co.

American Electric Power Co.

Atmos Energy Corp

Calpine Corp.

CenterPoint Energy, Inc.

CMS Energy Corp.

Consolidated Edison Inc.

Covanta Holding Corp.

Dominion Resources Inc.

DPL Inc.

DTE Energy Co.

Duke Energy Corp.

Edison International

El Paso Corp.

Enbridge Energy Partners LP

Energen Corp.

EQT Corp.

First Solar Inc.

Hawaiian Electric Indus.

IDACORP, Inc.

Integrys Energy Group, Inc.

MDU Resources Group, Inc.

Northeast Utilities

NRG Energy, Inc.

NSTAR

NV Energy Inc.

OGE Energy Corp.

Pepco Holdings, Inc.

Pinnacle West Capital Corp.

PNM Resources, Inc.

Portland General Electric Co.

PPL Corp

Progress Energy Inc.

Public Service Entrp Group Inc.

Regency Energy Partners LP

SCANA Corp.

Sempra Energy

Southern Union Co.

Spectra Energy Corp.

Targa Resources Partners, LP

UGI Corp.

Vectren Corp.

Westar Energy, Inc.

Wisconsin Energy Corp.

Xcel Energy Inc.

Executive Compensation Peer Group

In 2012, we also reviewed compensation data for 12 natural gas providers as a secondary point of reference. The companies in this “executive compensation peer group” were selected based upon their size and business operations. With assistance from F.W. Cook, the following criteria were developed for this group:

Size—must be roughly one-third to three times our size in two of the following categories:

Industry—must be a traditional natural gas local distribution company (LDC) and must meet at least one of the following:

For 2012, our executive compensation peer group companies were:

Atmos Energy Corp.

Centerpoint Energy Inc.

Integrys Energy Group, Inc.

New Jersey Resources Corp.

NiSource Inc.

ONEOK Inc.

Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc.

Sempra Energy

Southwest Gas Corp.

UGI Corp.

Vectren Corporation

WGL Holdings Inc.

To perform a more meaningful analysis of Mr. Tumminello’s compensation as the president of Sequent, F.W. Cook used Towers Watson’s Energy Trading and Marketing Survey, which included data more directly comparable to his position. This survey data included 16 companies having energy trading and marketing operations, many of which are included in both comparator groups detailed above.

2012 Executive Compensation

Mix of Pay at Target Level

The compensation programs approved by the Compensation Committee for the executives are intended to include a strong link between pay and performance by placing a significant portion of compensation “at risk.” Our programs are structured so that a significant portion of targeted total direct compensation for our executives is contingent on our financial performance or share price, as well as individual performance. We believe this is fundamental to align executive pay with value-creation for our shareholders. Specific information regarding the amount of total direct compensation that is at risk for each of our executives is included in the tables in the following section.

Setting 2012 Total Direct Compensation Opportunities

When setting base salary and target amounts for annual and long-term incentives, the Compensation Committee examined each component of pay on both a stand-alone basis and as a total. Pay decisions are based on the Compensation Committee’s business judgment, informed by the comparative data, professional advice and other considerations, including the individual executive’s experience and performance, internal pay equity and mastery of position responsibilities. Unless otherwise noted, changes in total direct compensation for 2012 were driven primarily by competitive market adjustments.