NW Natural Holdings

What NW Natural Holdings does

Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) is a Portland, Oregon-based publicly traded utility holding company that has operated in the Pacific Northwest since 1859. Through its regulated subsidiaries — NW Natural Gas Company, SiEnergy (and Pines), and NW Natural Water — the company provides natural gas distribution, water distribution, and wastewater services to approximately 985,000 meters across seven U.S. states (Oregon, southwest Washington, Texas, Arizona, California, plus extended service areas), serving roughly two million people. NW Natural also operates the Mist underground gas storage facility in Oregon with 21.6 Bcf of capacity, which is being expanded by 4-5 Bcf through the $300 million MX3 project (in-service expected by end of 2029) under 25-year contracts at a fixed 12.5% return on equity.

The company earns revenue through regulated rate mechanisms administered by state public utility commissions in Oregon, Washington, and Texas, with authorized returns on equity between 9.5% and 10.75% and a regulatory decoupling mechanism that isolates revenue from sales volumes. Revenue streams consist of regulated gas utility service (~904,000 combined NW Natural, SiEnergy, and Pines meters), regulated water and wastewater utility service (~81,000 meters), and contracted gas storage services to investment-grade utilities and midstream providers. The pricing model is subscription-based monthly billing to residential and commercial customers, augmented by regulated purchased gas adjustments, surcharges, and infrastructure riders; the company also pays a quarterly cash dividend ($0.4925/share; indicated $1.97 annual) and has increased the dividend for 70 consecutive years.

NW Natural Holdings pursues growth through a combination of organic customer additions (nearly 2% annually), platform acquisitions (SiEnergy in January 2025, Pines in June 2025, ICH water utilities in September 2024), and a $2.6-$2.9 billion capex program through 2030 that targets 6-8% annual rate base growth. FY2025 operating revenues were $1.29 billion with adjusted EPS of $2.93 (+25.8% year-over-year), and 2026 EPS guidance is $2.95-$3.15. Three concurrent rate cases (Oregon approved October 2025, Washington filed March 2026, Texas filed May 2026) anchor near-term revenue growth, while the MX3 project and renewables initiatives (NW Natural Renewables) represent longer-duration infrastructure and energy-transition plays.

Name

NW Natural Holdings

Legal name

Northwest Natural Holding Company

Website

https://ir.nwnaturalholdings.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1859

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Northwest Natural Holding Company (NYSE: NWN) is a Portland, Oregon-based regulated utility holding company providing natural gas, water, and wastewater services to approximately 985,000 customers across seven U.S. states through its NW Natural Gas, SiEnergy, and NW Natural Water subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regulated Natural Gas and Water Utility Services

NAICS

Natural Gas Distribution (22121)

SIC

Natural Gas Distribution (4924), Natural Gas Transmisison & Distribution (4923)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulated Natural Gas Utility (LDC) Customer Acquisition & Switching (EUAAADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Commercial & Industrial (C&I) Natural Gas Sales (EUAAADAC)

Keywords

• Natural gas distribution
• Water utility services
• Regulated utility services
• Renewable natural gas
• Underground gas storage

Headquarters

HQ city

Portland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Regulated Gas Utility: NW Natural Holdings operates regulated natural gas distribution utilities providing gas delivery service to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Oregon, southwest Washington, and Texas. Revenue is earned through regulated rate mechanisms, including general rate cases, purchased gas adjustments, and decoupling mechanisms. NW Natural serves approximately 811,000 gas meters and SiEnergy serves approximately 93,000 gas meters.
2. Water and Wastewater Utility: NW Natural Water provides water distribution and wastewater services to communities across the Pacific Northwest, Texas, Arizona, and California, serving approximately 81,000 water meters. Revenue is generated through regulated water and wastewater rates approved by state utility commissions.
3. Renewable Natural Gas and Gas Storage Services: NW Natural Renewables provides renewable fuels business. The MX3 gas storage expansion will provide contracted storage services to investment-grade regional utilities and midstream providers under 25-year agreements, providing fixed 12.5% return on equity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

NW Natural Holdings is a publicly traded utility holding company (NYSE: NWN) that, through its operating subsidiaries, distributes natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the Pacific Northwest and Texas, provides water and wastewater utility services across multiple states, produces renewable natural gas, and operates an underground natural gas storage facility in Oregon. The holding company serves approximately 985,000 meters/customers across seven states and is one of the oldest continuously operating natural gas utilities in the United States, founded in 1859.

Product overview

NW Natural Holdings operates as a diversified infrastructure holding company with three core regulated utility businesses: NW Natural (Pacific Northwest natural gas distribution), SiEnergy (Texas natural gas distribution), and NW Natural Water (water and wastewater services across seven states). The company also operates NW Natural Renewables for renewable fuel initiatives. The portfolio is supported by the Mist underground gas storage facility in Oregon. The company serves nearly one million customers across seven states with natural gas, water, and wastewater utility services, positioning it as a multi-utility platform rather than a single-product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NW Natural Gas Company (NW Natural)

Quantifiable outcome

• Record full-year adjusted EPS of $2.93 in 2025, up 25.8% from $2.33 in 2024
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Infrastructure Capital Holdings / Puttman (ICH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025NWN Water acquired the ICH water utilities (Infrastructure Capital Holdings/Puttman) in September 2024, adding incremental revenues to NWN Water's water and wastewater operations across Arizona and other states. The acquisition supported strong organic customer growth and new rates at NWN Water's largest Arizona utility.
• EPCOR USA Inc. (Pines acquisition)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 June 2025SiEnergy, a subsidiary of NW Natural Holdings, acquired Pines (formerly Hughes Gas Resources, Inc.) from EPCOR USA Inc. for $60.8 million in June 2025. Pines serves approximately 7,000 connections in 12 communities northeast of Houston, Texas, expanding SiEnergy's regulated gas utility footprint with a contracted customer backlog of over 12,000.
• SiEnergy acquisition (from prior period)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 January 2025NW Natural Holdings acquired SiEnergy Operating, LLC on January 7, 2025, marking the company's expansion into Texas gas utility markets. SiEnergy serves key Texas markets including Houston, Dallas, and Austin. The acquisition added approximately 87,000+ meters and was a major driver of the 11.1% combined customer growth rate.
• Regional utilities and midstream providers (MX3 storage customers)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInvestment-grade regional gas utilities and midstream providers have contracted for capacity at the MX3 gas storage expansion. These customers agreed to 25-year contracts with fixed 12.5% return on equity and 50% equity/50% debt capital structure. The contracted capacity provides revenue certainty for the MX3 project.
• Public Utility Commission of Oregon (OPUC)coreOthersThe OPUC approved NW Natural's Oregon general rate case in October 2025, granting a $20.7 million revenue increase (2.0%) with 50% common equity/50% long-term debt capital structure, 9.5% return on equity, and rate base of approximately $2.3 billion. New rates effective October 31, 2025.
• Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC)coreOthersNW Natural filed a multi-party settlement with the WUTC in March 2026 for its Washington general rate case, seeking increases of $20.1 million (Year 1), $7.7 million (Year 2), and $8.7 million (Year 3) with 50% common equity/50% long-term debt, 9.5% return on equity. New rates expected August 1, 2026.
• Texas Railroad Commission (RRC)coreOthersSiEnergy filed a general rate case with the Texas Railroad Commission on May 4, 2026, requesting consolidation of SiEnergy and Pines entities, a $12.0 million revenue increase, 60% common equity/40% long-term debt capital structure, 10.75% return on equity, and rate base of $343.1 million. New rates expected Q4 2026.
• Tyson Foods (Lexington RNG Project)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNW Natural co-owned the Lexington Renewable Natural Gas Project with Tyson Foods. The project was located at a Tyson beef processing facility in Lexington, Nebraska and is being shut down after Tyson announced closure of the plant. NW Natural has sought permission from the Oregon Public Utility Commission to shift $8.3 million in failed investment costs to ratepayers.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Atmos Energy Corporation: Largest pure-play natural gas distribution utility in the U.S., serving customers across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and other Sun Belt states. Zacks explicitly highlighted Atmos Energy alongside NW Natural Holdings as the two 'top stocks to watch' in the gas distribution industry, making it the most directly comparable peer.
• ONE Gas, Inc. Pure-play regulated natural gas distribution utility serving Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas, with ~2.3M customers. Closely comparable in business mix (pure regulated LDC), customer type (residential & SMB), rate-regulated earnings model, and capex-funded rate base growth thesis.
• Spire Inc. Natural gas distribution utility serving Missouri, Alabama, and Mississippi with an integrated gas storage business. Comparable in combining regulated LDC operations with underground gas storage — analogous to NW Natural's Mist/MX3 combination.
• Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. Natural gas distribution utility serving Arizona, Nevada, and California (under the Centuri construction services subsidiary). Comparable as a growth-oriented western U.S. gas LDC with active infrastructure investment programs, albeit serving a different geography.
• New Jersey Resources Corp. Diversified energy holding company with regulated natural gas distribution (New Jersey Natural Gas) plus clean energy ventures. Structurally comparable to NW Natural Holdings' mix of regulated gas distribution with a renewable/clean-fuel subsidiary (NW Natural Renewables).
• Chesapeake Utilities Corporation: Regulated natural gas distribution and transmission utility serving Delaware, Maryland, Florida, and Ohio with an unregulated energy supply business. Comparable to NW Natural in combining LDC operations with adjacent energy supply and pipeline services.

Broad incumbents

• Black Hills Corporation: Diversified utility holding company operating electric and natural gas utilities across eight states in the Mountain West and Midwest. Comparable to NW Natural as a multi-state, multi-utility regulated holding company with a similar capex/rate-base growth model.
• NorthWestern Energy Group, Inc. Regulated electric and natural gas utility serving Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, and parts of other states. Comparable as a mid-cap multi-utility regulated holding company with a similar pipeline-to-ratebase earnings model.
• American Water Works Company, Inc. Largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility. Comparable specifically to NW Natural Water (~81,000 meters across multiple states) as a peer for the water/wastewater segment of NW Natural Holdings.

Emerging players

• SJW Group: Pure-play water utility holding company serving California, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Connecticut. A more focused comp for NW Natural Water's regulated water operations than for the broader gas-heavy NWN portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northwest-natural-holding-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NW Natural Holdings