NW Natural
Encyclopedia
NW Natural is a publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon
, United States
. Primarily a natural gas
distributor, the company services residential, industrial, and commercial customers in Western Oregon
and Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1859, the company has over 674,000 customers and revenues of nearly one billion in US dollars annually. After Enron
filed for bankruptcy, NW Natural attempted to purchase fellow Portland utility Portland General Electric
(PGE) from Enron before various issues led to the abandonment of the deal.
. The territorial government granted the charter in January 1859, only a month before Oregon became a state on February 14, at which time the Oregon Constitution
became effective. The Constitution would not have allowed this perpetual franchise had the Constitution been in effect at the time the charter was granted. The company was started by H.C. Leonard and Henry D. Green, "colorful pioneers" who knew each other in New York, met again in San Francisco, and started a general store in Astoria in 1850.
Moving to Portland in 1851, Green and Leonard built the first shipping dock in Portland. They also operated as agents for Pacific Mail Steamship Company
and exported goods to the Hawaiian Islands and Asia. Their first coal gasification
plant at Flanders and the waterfront operated on coal from Vancouver Island
. Gas began flowing in 1859, and the first gas lights were in a section of downtown Portland beginning on June 1, 1860, supplying 49 customers. They incorporated as the Portland Gas Light Company in 1862 and purchased the Portland Water Company franchise. They also created the East Portland Gas Light Company in 1882, creating a plant at East Second and Ankeny.
Green died in 1885, and Leonard sold the Portland Water Company franchise to the city in December 1886. The gas business was sold to bankers C.F. Adams and Abbot Low Mills in August 1892 for a reported $850,000. Adams and Mills reincorporated as the Portland Gas Company and bought three other franchises, including the East Portland Gas Light Company. They connected east and west Portland with a 10-inch gas main under the Willamette, then dismantled the eastern gas plant.
In 1910, the company was sold to the American Power & Light Company for $3.5 million and was renamed the Portland Gas and Coke Company. American Power was a subsidiary of the Electric Bond and Share Company
of New York (EBASCO). EBASCO was the holding company for small utilities owned by General Electric
. Using American Power's financing, Portland Gas supported the creation of St. Johns Gas Company in 1910, Clackamas County Gas Company in 1913, and acquired both companies in 1915.
In the early days of the company, gas was manufactured from coal
or oil in local plants. This process ended with the arrival of natural gas to the region in the 1950s, and the company closed its last plant in 1957.
In 1958, the company changed its name to Northwest Natural Gas Company. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the company continued to grow and expand its service area beyond Portland and the Willamette Valley. By the end of 1989, the company had grown to serve over 300,000 residential customers. The company’s name was changed again, from Northwest Natural Gas Company to NW Natural in 1997.
NW Natural moved from the NASDAQ
stock market to a listing on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol NWN in 2000. NW Natural attempted to purchase Portland General Electric, a Portland based electricity utility, for nearly $3 billion beginning in October 2001 from Enron
. Due to issues including the bankruptcy of PGE parent Enron, the proposed merger was abandoned in May 2002. For a fifth straight year Business Ethics
magazine named NW Natural to its list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens, ranking 47th.
In 2005, the company began removing tar from the site of a former plant that had polluted the Willamette River
and were later fined for actions related to that clean-up. In 2007, NW Natural announced plans to construct a new pipeline for delivery of natural gas, and announced a rate cut for the first time in six years.
’s largest natural gas utility. It serves customers in along the Oregon Coast
, in the Willamette Valley
, in the Columbia River Gorge
, and in the Portland metropolitan area. The company operates an underground natural gas storage facility near Mist, Oregon
, in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
utilizing depleted gas wells. These former wells allow the company to purchase the gas when prices are lower and store until needed during peak consumption times during the winter.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Primarily a natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
distributor, the company services residential, industrial, and commercial customers in Western Oregon
Western Oregon
Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of Oregon within 120 miles of the Oregon Coast, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely however, and is sometimes taken to exclude the southwestern areas of the state,...
and Southwest Washington in the Pacific Northwest. Founded in 1859, the company has over 674,000 customers and revenues of nearly one billion in US dollars annually. After Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
filed for bankruptcy, NW Natural attempted to purchase fellow Portland utility Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric
Portland General Electric is an electrical utility based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill, Washington, and Polk counties - half of the inhabitants of Oregon...
(PGE) from Enron before various issues led to the abandonment of the deal.
History
Portland Gas Light Company began as the first gas company in the Pacific Northwest in 1859, based on a perpetual charter by the territorial governmentOregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
. The territorial government granted the charter in January 1859, only a month before Oregon became a state on February 14, at which time the Oregon Constitution
Oregon Constitution
The Oregon Constitution is the governing document of the U.S. state of Oregon, originally enacted in 1857. As amended the current state constitution contains eighteen sections, beginning with a bill of rights. This contains most of the rights and privileges granted in the United States Bill of...
became effective. The Constitution would not have allowed this perpetual franchise had the Constitution been in effect at the time the charter was granted. The company was started by H.C. Leonard and Henry D. Green, "colorful pioneers" who knew each other in New York, met again in San Francisco, and started a general store in Astoria in 1850.
Moving to Portland in 1851, Green and Leonard built the first shipping dock in Portland. They also operated as agents for Pacific Mail Steamship Company
Pacific Mail Steamship Company
The Pacific Mail Steamship Company was founded April 18, 1848 as a joint stock company under the laws of the State of New York by a group of New York City merchants, William H. Aspinwall, Edwin Bartlett, Henry Chauncey, Mr. Alsop, G.G. Howland and S.S. Howland...
and exported goods to the Hawaiian Islands and Asia. Their first coal gasification
Coal gasification
Coal gasification is the process of producing coal gas, a type of syngas–a mixture of carbon monoxide , hydrogen , carbon dioxide and water vapour –from coal...
plant at Flanders and the waterfront operated on coal from Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
. Gas began flowing in 1859, and the first gas lights were in a section of downtown Portland beginning on June 1, 1860, supplying 49 customers. They incorporated as the Portland Gas Light Company in 1862 and purchased the Portland Water Company franchise. They also created the East Portland Gas Light Company in 1882, creating a plant at East Second and Ankeny.
Green died in 1885, and Leonard sold the Portland Water Company franchise to the city in December 1886. The gas business was sold to bankers C.F. Adams and Abbot Low Mills in August 1892 for a reported $850,000. Adams and Mills reincorporated as the Portland Gas Company and bought three other franchises, including the East Portland Gas Light Company. They connected east and west Portland with a 10-inch gas main under the Willamette, then dismantled the eastern gas plant.
In 1910, the company was sold to the American Power & Light Company for $3.5 million and was renamed the Portland Gas and Coke Company. American Power was a subsidiary of the Electric Bond and Share Company
Electric Bond and Share Company
The Electric Bond and Share Company was originally a holding company that sold securities of electric utilities. It was created by General Electric in 1905. The company was restructured after the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Later known as EBASCO Services, it provided engineering...
of New York (EBASCO). EBASCO was the holding company for small utilities owned by General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
. Using American Power's financing, Portland Gas supported the creation of St. Johns Gas Company in 1910, Clackamas County Gas Company in 1913, and acquired both companies in 1915.
In the early days of the company, gas was manufactured from coal
Coal gas
Coal gas is a flammable gaseous fuel made by the destructive distillation of coal containing a variety of calorific gases including hydrogen, carbon monoxide, methane and volatile hydrocarbons together with small quantities of non-calorific gases such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen...
or oil in local plants. This process ended with the arrival of natural gas to the region in the 1950s, and the company closed its last plant in 1957.
In 1958, the company changed its name to Northwest Natural Gas Company. During the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, the company continued to grow and expand its service area beyond Portland and the Willamette Valley. By the end of 1989, the company had grown to serve over 300,000 residential customers. The company’s name was changed again, from Northwest Natural Gas Company to NW Natural in 1997.
NW Natural moved from the NASDAQ
NASDAQ
The NASDAQ Stock Market, also known as the NASDAQ, is an American stock exchange. "NASDAQ" originally stood for "National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations". It is the second-largest stock exchange by market capitalization in the world, after the New York Stock Exchange. As of...
stock market to a listing on the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
under the symbol NWN in 2000. NW Natural attempted to purchase Portland General Electric, a Portland based electricity utility, for nearly $3 billion beginning in October 2001 from Enron
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
. Due to issues including the bankruptcy of PGE parent Enron, the proposed merger was abandoned in May 2002. For a fifth straight year Business Ethics
Business ethics
Business ethics is a form of applied ethics or professional ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment. It applies to all aspects of business conduct and is relevant to the conduct of individuals and entire organizations.Business...
magazine named NW Natural to its list of 100 Best Corporate Citizens, ranking 47th.
In 2005, the company began removing tar from the site of a former plant that had polluted the Willamette River
Willamette River
The Willamette River is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States...
and were later fined for actions related to that clean-up. In 2007, NW Natural announced plans to construct a new pipeline for delivery of natural gas, and announced a rate cut for the first time in six years.
Services
NW Natural is OregonOregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
’s largest natural gas utility. It serves customers in along the Oregon Coast
Oregon Coast
The Oregon Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It runs generally north-south along the Pacific Ocean, forming the western border of the state; the region is bounded to the east by the Oregon Coast Range. The Oregon Coast stretches approximately from the Columbia River in the north to...
, in the Willamette Valley
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley is the most populated region in the state of Oregon of the United States. Located in the state's northwest, the region is surrounded by tall mountain ranges to the east, west and south and the valley's floor is broad, flat and fertile because of Ice Age conditions...
, in the Columbia River Gorge
Columbia River Gorge
The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range forming the boundary between the State of Washington to the north and Oregon to the south...
, and in the Portland metropolitan area. The company operates an underground natural gas storage facility near Mist, Oregon
Mist, Oregon
Mist is an unincorporated community in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. It was named for the atmospheric conditions of the Nehalem Valley.On July 6, 2001, the Mist store, which was built in 1874, caught fire and was destroyed...
, in the Northern Oregon Coast Range
Northern Oregon Coast Range
The Northern Oregon Coast Range is the northern section of the Oregon Coast Range, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region, located in the northwest portion of the state of Oregon, United States. This section of the mountain range, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, contains peaks as high...
utilizing depleted gas wells. These former wells allow the company to purchase the gas when prices are lower and store until needed during peak consumption times during the winter.
Financial results
Financial figures for the company, in millions of US dollars.| Year | Revenue | Net Income |
|---|---|---|
| 2004: | $707.6 | $50.6 |
| 2005: | $910.5 | $58.1 |
| 2006: | $1,013.2 | $63.4 |
| 2008: | $1,116.5 | $75.8 |
| 2009: | $1,012.7 | $75.1 |
| 2010: | $812.1 | $72.6 |