Northwest Natural Gas : NW Natural's Smart Energy Program Marks its 10-Year Anniversary

NW Natural's Smart Energy Program Marks its 10-Year Anniversary
Milestone number of customers enrolled in carbon offset program

PORTLAND, Ore. -NW Natural (NYSE:NWN) is celebrating its 10th year of Smart Energy this month. The carbon offset program has more than 39,000 residential and business customers enrolled across Oregon and Southwest Washington.

As of July 31, 2017, participating customers have contributed to the offset or future offset of carbon emissions from natural gas use by more than 610,000 total tons--equivalent to nearly 116,800 cars removed from the road for a year.

'Our goal is to help our customers reduce the environmental impacts of their energy use,' said Brian Harney, Smart Energy program manager. 'We have come a long way since we created this program, and Smart Energy's success is owed to all the NW Natural customers who participate in it.'

An average NW Natural residential customer pays $5.50 a month to participate in the program. NW Natural uses Smart Energy dollars to help fund projects that prevent the release of greenhouse gases such as farms that capture methane from cow manure or organic waste. The captured methane, known as biogas, is an on-demand renewable energy source that can reduce emissions by replacing other fuels with higher emissions. NW Natural works with The Climate Trust to ensure that only verified high-quality offsets are purchased and retired for the Smart Energy program.

With environmental stewardship as one of its core values, NW Natural was the first Local Distribution Company in the nation to launch a carbon offset program 10 years ago.

The company recently ran a campaign to donate $10 to the Oregon State Parks Foundation for every customer that enrolled in Smart Energy by a certain date. As a result, approximately $18,000 will be donated to the OSPF this year.

Steve Mertz, Smart Energy Circle member and owner of Tacovore restaurant, said, 'The Smart Energy program is totally consistent with our values. By mitigating our carbon footprint, we can be part of the solution and not part of the problem.'

Meet more local Smart Energy Circle customers who are committed to reducing their carbon footprint, read the Smart Energy progress report, view a map of current projects, and/or enroll in the Smart Energy program at nwnatural.com/Residential/SmartEnergy or call 800-422-4012.

About NW Natural

NW Natural (NYSE:NWN) is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and provides natural gas service to about 730,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon and Southwest Washington. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest. Additional information is available at www.nwnatural.com.

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