NW Natural History

7, 1859, they obtained a perpetual franchise from the territorial government to distribute gas.

1860 The plant begins providing gas lighting for some of Portland's then 3,000 residents.

They incorporated as the Portland Gas Light Company in 1862 and purchased the Portland Water Company franchise.

By 1868, Portland Gas Light Co. was responsible for keeping the water hot in the boilers of Portland's horse-drawn, steam fire engines--the first recorded use of local gas for a purpose other than lighting.

They also created the East Portland Gas Light Company in 1882, creating a plant at East Second and Ankeny.

In 1892, Charles F. Adams, A.L. Mills, and other businessmen bought the Portland Gas Light Co., tied both plants together with a pipeline that went under the Willamette River, and changed the company's name to Portland Gas Co.

Service halted briefly when the record 1894 flood ripped out the underwater crossing, but the company soon rebuilt its manufacturing facilities above the high water mark.

California oil became cheaper than coal so, in 1906, the company began a plant changeover.

By 1910, there were 332 miles of mains serving about ten city districts, and the company incorporated as Portland Gas Coke Co.

In 1913, Portland Gas Coke built its third and last gas manufacturing plant in Linnton, where it made gas from oil, not coal.

In 1949, American Power Light sold off its holdings in Portland Gas Coke.

The company soon thereafter enjoyed renewed development once natural gas arrived from the southwest in 1956 and 15 months later from British Columbia.

In 1958, the company changed its name to Northwest Natural Gas Company.

1969 The company builds its first liquefied natural gas storage tank.

History of general rate changes General rate case history from 1975 - present.

In a push to explore new technologies, Northwest Natural also formed Northwest Geothermal Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary devoted to exploring and developing geothermal sources of energy in western Oregon, in 1978.

1979 Northwest Natural Gas undertakes its largest expansion in eight years, adding 450 miles of pipeline to its 11,000-mile system.

History of cost of gas Annual and winter sales weighted average cost of gas from 1988 - present.

By the end of 1989, the company had grown to serve over 300,000 residential customers.

In 1997, it recruited 430,000 new customers, making it the fastest-growing energy utility in the region.

Due to issues including the bankruptcy of PGE parent Enron, the proposed merger was abandoned in May 2002.

On January 17, 2003, the board of directors of NW Natural Gas Co., dba NW Natural, announced the creation of a charitable fund at the Oregon Community Foundation to honor retiring Chief Executive Officer Richard G. Reiten.

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.