Northwest Natural Holding Co - Quarter Report: 2023 March (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 10-Q

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2023

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ___________ to____________

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Commission file number

1-38681

Commission file number

1-15973

Oregon

82-4710680

Oregon

93-0256722

(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

250 SW Taylor Street

Portland

Oregon

97204

Portland

Oregon

97204

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(503)

226-4211

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(503)

226-4211

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Registrant

Title of each class

Trading Symbol

Name of each exchange

on which registered

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

Common Stock

NWN

New York Stock Exchange

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

None

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

Yes

☒

☐

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

Yes

☒

☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

Yes

☒

☐

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

Yes

☒

☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer", "smaller reporting company" and "emerging growth company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

Large Accelerated Filer

☒

Large Accelerated Filer

☐

Accelerated Filer

☐

Accelerated Filer

☐

Non-accelerated Filer

☐

Non-accelerated Filer

☒

Smaller Reporting Company

☐

Smaller Reporting Company

☐

Emerging Growth Company

☐

Emerging Growth Company

☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

Yes

☐

☒

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

Yes

☐

☒

At April 27, 2023, 35,965,613 shares of Northwest Natural Holding Company's Common Stock (the only class of Common Stock) were outstanding. All shares of Northwest Natural Gas Company's Common Stock (the only class of Common Stock) outstanding were held by Northwest Natural Holding Company.

This combined Form 10-Q is separately filed by Northwest Natural Holding Company and Northwest Natural Gas Company. Information contained in this document relating to Northwest Natural Gas Company is filed by Northwest Natural Holding Company and separately by Northwest Natural Gas Company. Northwest Natural Gas Company makes no representation as to information relating to Northwest Natural Holding Company or its subsidiaries, except as it may relate to Northwest Natural Gas Company and its subsidiaries.

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

For the Quarterly Period Ended March 31, 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS


PART 1.	FINANCIAL INFORMATION	Page

	Forward-Looking Statements	3

Item 1.	Unaudited Financial Statements:
	Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income of Northwest Natural Holding Company for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022	5
	Consolidated Balance Sheets of Northwest Natural Holding Company at March 3 1 , 202 3 and 202 2 and December 31, 202 2	6
	Consolidated Statements of Shareholders' Equity of Northwest Natural Holding Company for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022	8
	Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows of Northwest Natural Holding Company for the three months ended March 3 1 , 202 3 and 202 2	9
	Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income of Northwest Natural Gas Company for the three months ended March 3 1 , 202 3 and 202 2	10
	Consolidated Balance Sheets of Northwest Natural Gas Company at March 31 , 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022	11
	Consolidated Statements of Shareholder's Equity of Northwest Natural Gas Company for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022	13
	Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows of Northwest Natural Gas Company for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022	14
	Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements	15

Item 2.	Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	39

Item 3.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	62

Item 4.	Controls and Procedures	62

PART II.	OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1.	Legal Proceedings	63

Item 1A.	Risk Factors	63

Item 2.	Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds	63



Item 6.	Exhibits	63

	Signatures	65

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to the safe harbors created by such Act. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as anticipates, assumes, may, intends, plans, projects, seeks, should, believes, estimates, expects, will, could, and similar references (including the negatives thereof) to future periods, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the following:

•plans, projections and predictions;

•objectives, goals, visions or strategies;

•assumptions, generalizations and estimates;

•ongoing continuation of past practices or patterns;

•future events or performance;

•trends;

•risks;

•uncertainties;

•timing and cyclicality;

•economic conditions, including impacts of inflation and interest rates, bank failure, recessionary risk, and general economic uncertainty;

•earnings and dividends;

•capital expenditures and allocation;

•capital markets or access to capital;

•capital or organizational structure;

•matters related to climate change and our role in decarbonization or a low-carbon future;

•renewable natural gas, environmental attributes related thereto, and hydrogen;

•our strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the efficacy of communicating that strategy to shareholders, investors, stakeholders and communities;

•the policies and priorities of the current presidential administration and U.S. Congress;

•growth;

•customer rates;

•pandemic and related illness or quarantine, including COVID-19 and related variants and subvariants, and, economic conditions related thereto or resulting therefrom;

•labor relations and workforce succession;

•commodity costs;

•desirability and cost competitiveness of natural gas;

•gas reserves;

•operational performance and costs;

•energy policy, infrastructure and preferences;

•public policy approach and involvement;

•efficacy of derivatives and hedges;

•liquidity, financial positions, and planned securities issuances;

•valuations;

•project and program development, expansion, or investment;

•business development efforts, including new business lines such as unregulated renewable natural gas, and acquisitions and integration thereof;

•implementation and execution of our water strategy;

•pipeline capacity, demand, location, and reliability;

•adequacy of property rights and operations center development;

•technology implementation and cybersecurity practices;

•competition;

•procurement and development of gas (including renewable natural gas) and water supplies;

•estimated expenditures, supply chain and third party availability and impairment;

•supply chain disruptions;

•costs of compliance, and our ability to include those costs in rates;

•customers bypassing our infrastructure;

•credit exposures;

•uncollectible account amounts;

•rate or regulatory outcomes, recovery or refunds, and the availability of public utility commissions to take action;

•impacts or changes of executive orders, laws, rules and regulations, or legal challenges related thereto, including the Inflation Reduction Act or other energy climate related legislation;

•tax liabilities or refunds, including effects of tax legislation;

•levels and pricing of gas storage contracts and gas storage markets;

•outcomes, timing and effects of potential claims, litigation, regulatory actions, and other administrative matters;

•projected obligations, expectations and treatment with respect to, and the impact of new legislation on, retirement plans;

•international, federal, state, and local efforts to regulate, in a variety of ways, greenhouse gas emissions, and the effects of those efforts;

•geopolitical factors, such as the Russia/Ukraine conflict;

•availability, adequacy, and shift in mix, of gas and water supplies;

•effects of new or anticipated changes in critical accounting policies or estimates;

•approval and adequacy of regulatory deferrals;

•effects and efficacy of regulatory mechanisms; and

•environmental, regulatory, litigation and insurance costs and recoveries, and timing thereof.

Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy, and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Our actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. We therefore caution you against relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are discussed in NW Holdings' and NW Natural's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, Part I, Item 1A “Risk Factors” and Part II, Item 7 and Item 7A, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk”, respectively, and Part I of this report, Items 2 and 3, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk”, respectively.

Any forward-looking statement made in this report speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

ITEM 1. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (UNAUDITED)


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands, except per share data		2023		2022

Operating revenues		$	462,423	$	350,301

Operating expenses:
Cost of gas		205,749		145,588
Operations and maintenance		71,817		57,485
Environmental remediation		5,375		4,703
General taxes		14,219		12,104
Revenue taxes		19,042		13,360
Depreciation		31,465		28,429
Other operating expenses		1,248		994
Total operating expenses		348,915		262,663
Income from operations		113,508		87,638
Other income (expense), net		1,606		(954)
Interest expense, net		18,296		11,522
Income before income taxes		96,818		75,162
Income tax expense		25,147		18,923


Net income		71,671		56,239
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Amortization of non-qualified employee benefit plan liability, net of taxes of $37 and $71 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively		102		197
Unrealized loss on interest rate swaps, net of taxes of $149 for the three months ended March 31, 2023		(411)		—
Comprehensive income		$	71,362	$	56,436
Average common shares outstanding:
Basic		35,609		31,187
Diluted		35,708		31,212






Earnings per share of common stock:
Basic		$	2.01	$	1.80
Diluted		2.01		1.80

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)


	March 31,		March 31,		December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022

Assets:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	140,821	$	24,325	$	29,270

Accounts receivable	164,157		103,131		168,906
Accrued unbilled revenue	59,542		41,772		89,048
Allowance for uncollectible accounts	(6,760)		(2,488)		(3,296)
Regulatory assets	126,546		64,481		117,491
Derivative instruments	8,507		84,438		194,412
Inventories	41,392		33,377		87,096


Other current assets	41,968		42,329		61,286

Total current assets	576,173		391,365		744,213
Non-current assets:
Property, plant, and equipment	4,320,476		4,041,894		4,261,566
Less: Accumulated depreciation	1,164,498		1,137,138		1,147,166
Total property, plant, and equipment, net	3,155,978		2,904,756		3,114,400
Regulatory assets	311,419		297,546		340,432
Derivative instruments	1,432		6,955		5,045
Other investments	93,611		96,266		95,704
Operating lease right of use asset, net	72,699		74,416		73,429
Assets under sales-type leases	133,159		137,837		134,302
Goodwill	149,836		70,570		149,283
Other non-current assets	97,789		74,923		91,518

Total non-current assets	4,015,923		3,663,269		4,004,113
Total assets	$	4,592,096	$	4,054,634	$	4,748,326

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)


	March 31,		March 31,		December 31,
In thousands, including share information	2023		2022		2022

Liabilities and equity:
Current liabilities:
Short-term debt	$	72,500	$	332,500	$	258,200
Current maturities of long-term debt	240,712		339		90,697
Accounts payable	111,152		130,557		180,667
Taxes accrued	31,372		14,258		15,625
Interest accrued	13,089		10,886		10,169
Regulatory liabilities	57,523		111,791		248,582
Derivative instruments	44,370		3,855		28,728
Operating lease liabilities	1,700		1,303		1,514
Other current liabilities	71,662		52,778		64,552

Total current liabilities	644,080		658,267		898,734
Long-term debt	1,294,590		1,044,667		1,246,167
Deferred credits and other non-current liabilities:
Deferred tax liabilities	376,237		353,746		366,022
Regulatory liabilities	669,328		652,977		689,578
Pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities	147,890		164,530		149,143
Derivative instruments	15,382		592		20,838
Operating lease liabilities	78,302		79,162		78,965
Other non-current liabilities	117,980		112,749		123,438

Total deferred credits and other non-current liabilities	1,405,119		1,363,756		1,427,984
Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)
Equity:
Common stock - no par value; authorized 100,000 shares; issued and outstanding 35,929, 31,380, and 35,525 at March 31, 2023 and 2022, and December 31, 2022, respectively	824,304		602,382		805,253
Retained earnings	430,597		396,769		376,473
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(6,594)		(11,207)		(6,285)
Total equity	1,248,307		987,944		1,175,441
Total liabilities and equity	$	4,592,096	$	4,054,634	$	4,748,326

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY (UNAUDITED)


In thousands, except per share amounts	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2023		2022
Total shareholders' equity, beginning balances		$	1,175,441	$	935,146

Common stock:
Beginning balances		805,253		590,771
Stock-based compensation		2,580		1,774
Shares issued pursuant to equity based plans, net of shares withheld for taxes		(174)		(76)
Issuance of common stock, net of issuance costs		16,645		9,913


Ending balances		824,304		602,382

Retained earnings:
Beginning balances		376,473		355,779
Net income		71,671		56,239
Dividends on common stock		(17,547)		(15,249)

Ending balances		430,597		396,769

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Beginning balances		(6,285)		(11,404)
Other comprehensive income (loss)		(309)		197

Ending balances		(6,594)		(11,207)

Total shareholders' equity, ending balances		$	1,248,307	$	987,944

Dividends per share of common stock		$	0.4850	$	0.4825

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	2023		2022
Operating activities:
Net income	$	71,671	$	56,239
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operations:
Depreciation	31,465		28,429
Regulatory amortization of gas reserves	833		1,481
Deferred income taxes	5,228		8,780
Qualified defined benefit pension plan (benefit) expense	(791)		1,441

Deferred environmental expenditures, net	(4,113)		(4,345)
Environmental remediation expense	5,375		4,703


Asset optimization revenue sharing bill credits	(10,471)		(41,102)
Other	8,509		6,325
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables, net	38,727		38,664
Inventories	46,129		23,885
Income and other taxes	25,567		14,436
Accounts payable	(47,773)		(16,487)
Deferred gas costs	(11,300)		11,728
Asset optimization revenue sharing	7,769		(646)
Decoupling mechanism	(1,303)		4,434
Cloud-based software	(3,673)		(416)
Other, net	15,012		3,488
Cash provided by operating activities	176,861		141,037
Investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(71,265)		(68,514)
Acquisitions, net of cash acquired	(468)		—



Other	(1,285)		(1,236)
Cash used in investing activities	(73,018)		(69,750)
Financing activities:


Proceeds from common stock issued, net	16,669		9,938
Long-term debt issued	200,000		—



Changes in other short-term debt, net	(185,700)		(57,000)
Cash dividend payments on common stock	(16,532)		(14,452)

Other	(3,250)		(1,250)
Cash provided by (used in) financing activities	11,187		(62,764)
Increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	115,030		8,523
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period	40,964		27,120
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period	$	155,994	$	35,643

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Interest paid, net of capitalization	$	14,904	$	7,977
Income taxes paid, net of refunds	1,300		773

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (UNAUDITED)


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022

Operating revenues		$	454,513	$	346,624

Operating expenses:
Cost of gas		205,805		145,644
Operations and maintenance		65,389		53,877
Environmental remediation		5,375		4,703
General taxes		14,000		11,989
Revenue taxes		18,975		13,324
Depreciation		30,144		27,637
Other operating expenses		697		899
Total operating expenses		340,385		258,073
Income from operations		114,128		88,551
Other income (expense), net		2,445		(981)
Interest expense, net		14,611		10,831
Income before income taxes		101,962		76,739
Income tax expense		26,422		19,323


Net income		75,540		57,416
Other comprehensive income:
Amortization of non-qualified employee benefit plan liability, net of taxes of $37 and $71 for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2021, respectively		102		197

Comprehensive income		$	75,642	$	57,613

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)


	March 31,		March 31,		December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022

Assets:
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	129,731	$	10,165	$	12,977

Accounts receivable	158,675		101,551		165,607
Accrued unbilled revenue	57,855		41,651		87,482
Receivables from affiliates	2,388		1,850		634
Allowance for uncollectible accounts	(3,937)		(2,432)		(3,079)
Regulatory assets	126,546		64,481		117,491
Derivative instruments	8,890		84,438		194,236
Inventories	39,835		32,757		86,207


Other current assets	40,950		39,507		57,269

Total current assets	560,933		373,968		718,824
Non-current assets:
Property, plant, and equipment	4,200,299		3,971,050		4,148,547
Less: Accumulated depreciation	1,153,060		1,129,837		1,137,231
Total property, plant, and equipment, net	3,047,239		2,841,213		3,011,316
Regulatory assets	311,394		297,482		340,407
Derivative instruments	1,432		6,955		5,045
Other investments	78,102		81,797		80,110
Operating lease right of use asset, net	72,077		74,361		72,720
Assets under sales-type leases	133,158		137,837		134,302
Other non-current assets	96,300		73,207		89,994

Total non-current assets	3,739,702		3,512,852		3,733,894
Total assets	$	4,300,635	$	3,886,820	$	4,452,718

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)


	March 31,		March 31,		December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022

Liabilities and equity:
Current liabilities:
Short-term debt	$	—	$	188,500	$	170,200
Current maturities of long-term debt	89,962		—		89,942
Accounts payable	107,986		127,569		177,590
Payables to affiliates	24,806		9,619		9,175
Taxes accrued	15,120		14,224		15,426
Interest accrued	12,535		10,708		8,900
Regulatory liabilities	57,494		111,791		248,553
Derivative instruments	44,370		3,855		28,728
Operating lease liabilities	1,538		1,286		1,363
Other current liabilities	69,114		52,053		62,019

Total current liabilities	422,925		519,605		811,896
Long-term debt	1,234,460		986,627		1,035,935
Deferred credits and other non-current liabilities:
Deferred tax liabilities	374,092		351,191		362,353
Regulatory liabilities	668,348		651,995		688,599
Pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities	147,890		164,530		149,143
Derivative instruments	15,382		592		20,838
Operating lease liabilities	77,840		79,125		78,345
Other non-current liabilities	109,518		111,546		114,527

Total deferred credits and other non-current liabilities	1,393,070		1,358,979		1,413,805
Commitments and contingencies (Note 16)
Equity:
Common stock	614,911		436,042		614,903
Retained earnings	641,581		596,774		582,593
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(6,312)		(11,207)		(6,414)
Total equity	1,250,180		1,021,609		1,191,082
Total liabilities and equity	$	4,300,635	$	3,886,820	$	4,452,718

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDER'S EQUITY (UNAUDITED)


In thousands	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2023		2022
Total shareholder's equity, beginning balances		$	1,191,082	$	977,807

Common stock:
Beginning balances		614,903		435,515


Capital contributions from parent		8		527


Ending balances		614,911		436,042

Retained earnings:
Beginning balances		582,593		553,696
Net income		75,540		57,416
Dividends on common stock		(16,552)		(14,338)

Ending balances		641,581		596,774

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss):
Beginning balances		(6,414)		(11,404)
Other comprehensive income		102		197

Ending balances		(6,312)		(11,207)

Total shareholder's equity, ending balances		$	1,250,180	$	1,021,609

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	2023		2022

Operating activities:
Net income	$	75,540	$	57,416
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash provided by operations:
Depreciation	30,144		27,637
Regulatory amortization of gas reserves	833		1,481
Deferred income taxes	6,495		8,744
Qualified defined benefit pension plan (benefit) expense	(791)		1,441

Deferred environmental expenditures, net	(4,113)		(4,345)
Environmental remediation expense	5,375		4,703
Asset optimization revenue sharing bill credits	(10,471)		(41,102)

Other	7,851		5,786
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Receivables, net	36,671		36,920
Inventories	46,509		23,995
Income and other taxes	20,310		12,383
Accounts payable	(48,531)		(15,525)
Deferred gas costs	(11,299)		11,728
Asset optimization revenue sharing	7,769		(646)
Decoupling mechanism	(1,303)		4,434
Cloud-based software	(3,673)		(416)
Other, net	17,515		3,596

Cash provided by operating activities	174,831		138,230
Investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(63,598)		(64,317)


Other	(1,284)		(1,236)

Cash used in investing activities	(64,882)		(65,553)
Financing activities:


Cash contributions received from parent	8		527
Long-term debt issued	200,000		—



Changes in other short-term debt, net	(170,200)		(57,000)
Cash dividend payments on common stock	(16,552)		(14,338)
Other	(2,972)		(1,215)

Cash provided by (used in) financing activities	10,284		(72,026)
Increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	120,233		651
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period	24,671		20,832
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period	$	144,904	$	21,483

Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Interest paid, net of capitalization	$	10,522	$	7,288
Income taxes paid, net of refunds	6,565		3,300

See Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

1. ORGANIZATION AND PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION

The accompanying consolidated financial statements represent the respective, consolidated financial results of Northwest Natural Holding Company (NW Holdings) and Northwest Natural Gas Company (NW Natural) and all respective companies that each registrant directly or indirectly controls, either through majority ownership or otherwise. This is a combined report of NW Holdings and NW Natural, which includes separate consolidated financial statements for each registrant.

NW Natural's regulated natural gas distribution activities are reported in the natural gas distribution (NGD) segment. The NGD segment is NW Natural's core operating business and serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. The NGD segment is the only reportable segment for NW Holdings and NW Natural. All other activities, water and wastewater businesses, and other investments are aggregated and reported as other at their respective registrant.

NW Holdings and NW Natural consolidate all entities in which they have a controlling financial interest. Investments in corporate joint ventures and partnerships that NW Holdings does not directly or indirectly control, and for which it is not the primary beneficiary, include NNG Financial's investment in Kelso-Beaver Pipeline and NWN Water's investment in Avion Water Company, Inc., which are accounted for under the equity method. NW Natural RNG Holding Company, LLC holds an investment in Lexington Renewable Energy, LLC, which is also accounted for under the equity method. See Note 13 for activity related to equity method investments. NW Holdings and its direct and indirect subsidiaries are collectively referred to herein as NW Holdings, and NW Natural and its direct and indirect subsidiaries are collectively referred to herein as NW Natural. The consolidated financial statements of NW Holdings and NW Natural are presented after elimination of all intercompany balances and transactions.

Information presented in these interim consolidated financial statements is unaudited, but includes all material adjustments management considers necessary for a fair statement of the results for each period reported including normal recurring accruals. These consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and related notes included in NW Holdings' and NW Natural's combined 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K (2022 Form 10-K). A significant part of NW Holdings' and NW Natural's business is of a seasonal nature; therefore, NW Holdings and NW Natural results of operations for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of full year results. Seasonality affects the comparability of the results of other operations across quarters but not across years.

Notes to the consolidated financial statements reflect the activity for both NW Holdings and NW Natural for all periods presented, unless otherwise noted. Certain reclassifications have been made to conform prior period information to the current presentation. The reclassifications did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 of the 2022 Form 10-K. There were no material changes to those accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2023 other than those set forth in this Note 2. The following are current updates to certain critical accounting policy estimates and new accounting standards.

Industry Regulation

NW Holdings' principal business is to operate as a holding company for NW Natural and its other subsidiaries. NW Natural's principal business is the distribution of natural gas, which is regulated by the OPUC and WUTC. NW Natural also has natural gas storage services, which are regulated by the FERC, and to a certain extent by the OPUC and WUTC. Additionally, certain of NW Holdings' subsidiaries own water businesses, which are regulated by the public utility commission in the state in which the water utility is located, which is currently Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Texas and Arizona. Wastewater businesses, to the extent they are regulated, are generally regulated by the public utility commissions in the state in which the wastewater utility is located, which is currently Texas and Arizona.

In applying regulatory accounting principles, NW Holdings and NW Natural capitalize or defer certain costs and revenues as regulatory assets and liabilities pursuant to orders of the applicable state public utility commission, which provide for the recovery of revenues or expenses from, or refunds to, utility customers in future periods, including a return or a carrying charge in certain cases.

Amounts deferred as regulatory assets and liabilities for NW Holdings and NW Natural were as follows:


	Regulatory Assets
	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
NW Natural:
Current:
Unrealized loss on derivatives(1)	$	44,370	$	3,855	$	28,728
Gas costs	51,296		33,215		61,223
Environmental Costs(2)	6,947		7,082		7,392
Decoupling(3)	—		469		—
Pension balancing(4)	7,131		7,131		7,131
Income taxes	2,208		2,299		2,208
Other(5)	14,594		10,430		10,809
Total current - NW Natural	$	126,546	$	64,481	$	117,491


Non-current:
Unrealized loss on derivatives(1)	$	15,382	$	592	$	20,838
Pension balancing(4)	30,613		35,974		32,997
Income taxes	10,540		11,129		10,943
Pension and other postretirement benefit liabilities	101,413		113,494		101,413
Environmental Costs(2)	99,541		87,566		104,253
Gas costs	6,546		10,054		22,355

Other(5)	47,359		38,673		47,608
Total non-current - NW Natural	$	311,394	$	297,482	$	340,407
Other (NW Holdings)	25		64		25
Total non-current - NW Holdings	$	311,419	$	297,546	$	340,432


	Regulatory Liabilities
	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
NW Natural:
Current:
Gas costs	$	5,670	$	1,922	$	4,121
Unrealized gain on derivatives(1)	8,890		84,438		194,236
Decoupling(3)	12,606		8,236		14,026
Income taxes	5,143		7,318		7,166
Asset optimization revenue sharing	19,040		5,186		26,368
Other(5)	6,145		4,691		2,636
Total current - NW Natural	$	57,494	$	111,791	$	248,553
Other (NW Holdings)	29		—		29
Total current - NW Holdings	$	57,523	$	111,791	$	248,582
Non-current:
Gas costs	$	2,024	$	532	$	12,644
Unrealized gain on derivatives(1)	1,432		6,955		5,045
Decoupling(3)	3,931		3,585		3,814
Income taxes(6)	170,289		176,138		174,212
Accrued asset removal costs(7)	474,764		450,973		467,742
Asset optimization revenue sharing	—		—		8,401
Other(5)	15,908		13,812		16,741
Total non-current - NW Natural	$	668,348	$	651,995	$	688,599
Other (NW Holdings)	980		982		979
Total non-current - NW Holdings	$	669,328	$	652,977	$	689,578

(1)Unrealized gains or losses on derivatives are non-cash items and therefore do not earn a rate of return or a carrying charge. These amounts are recoverable through NGD rates as part of the annual Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA) mechanism when realized at settlement.

(2)Refer to the Environmental Cost Deferral and Recovery table in Note 16 for a description of environmental costs.

(3)This deferral represents the margin adjustment resulting from differences between actual and expected volumes.

(4)Balance represents deferred net periodic benefit costs as approved by the OPUC.

(5)Balances consist of deferrals and amortizations under approved regulatory mechanisms and typically earn a rate of return or carrying charge.

(6)Balance represents excess deferred income tax benefits subject to regulatory flow-through.

(7)Estimated costs of removal on certain regulated properties are collected through rates.

We believe all costs incurred and deferred at March 31, 2023 are prudent. All regulatory assets are reviewed annually for recoverability, or more often if circumstances warrant. If we should determine that all or a portion of these regulatory assets no longer meet the criteria for continued application of regulatory accounting, then NW Holdings and NW Natural would be required to write-off the net unrecoverable balances in the period such determination is made.

Supplemental Cash Flow Information

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand plus highly liquid investment accounts with original maturity dates of three months or less. These investments are readily convertible to cash with fair value approximating cost. As of March 31, 2023, the amount invested in money market funds was $107.6 million at NW Natural and $112.6 million at NW Holdings. These investments are measured using net asset value per share.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash is primarily comprised of funds from public purpose charges for programs that assist low-income customers with bill payments or energy efficiency.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances at NW Holdings as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
Cash and cash equivalents	$	140,821	$	24,325	$	29,270
Restricted cash included in other current assets	15,173		11,318		11,694
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	155,994	$	35,643	$	40,964

The following table provides a reconciliation of the cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash balances at NW Natural as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
Cash and cash equivalents	$	129,731	$	10,165	$	12,977
Restricted cash included in other current assets	15,173		11,318		11,694
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	$	144,904	$	21,483	$	24,671

Intercompany Dividend

In April 2023, NW Natural made a dividend to NW Holdings for $25.0 million, returning additional equity contributed from NW Holdings to NW Natural in 2022.

Accounts Receivable and Allowance for Uncollectible Accounts

Accounts receivable consist primarily of amounts due for natural gas sales and transportation services to NGD customers, plus amounts due for gas storage services. NW Holdings and NW Natural establish allowances for uncollectible accounts (allowance) for trade receivables, including accrued unbilled revenue, based on the aging of receivables, collection experience of past due account balances including payment plans, and historical trends of write-offs as a percent of revenues. A specific allowance is established and recorded for large individual customer receivables when amounts are identified as unlikely to be partially or fully recovered. Inactive accounts are written-off against the allowance after they are 120 days past due or when deemed uncollectible. Differences between the estimated allowance and actual write-offs will occur based on a number of factors, including changes in economic conditions, customer creditworthiness, and natural gas prices. The allowance for uncollectible accounts is adjusted quarterly, as necessary, based on information currently available.

Allowance for Trade Receivables

The payment term of our NGD receivables is generally 15 days. For these short-term receivables, it is not expected that forecasted economic conditions would significantly affect the loss estimates under stable economic conditions. For extreme situations like a financial crisis, natural disaster, and the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we enhanced our review and analysis.

For the residential and commercial uncollectible provision, we primarily followed our standard methodology, which includes assessing historical write-off trends and current information on delinquent accounts. Beginning October 1, 2022, new collection rules from the OPUC applied to residential and commercial customers. This included enhanced protections for low-income customers, a return to pre-pandemic time payment arrangements terms, revised disconnection rules during the heating season,

and other items. As a result of these Oregon rule changes and our recent collection process experience, we augmented our provision review for Oregon accounts in the following categories: closed or inactive accounts aged less than 120 days, accounts on payment plans, and all other open accounts not on payment plans. For industrial accounts, we continue to assess the provision on an account-by-account basis with specific reserves taken as necessary. NW Natural will continue to closely monitor and evaluate our accounts receivable and the provision for uncollectible accounts.

The following table presents the activity related to the NW Holdings provision for uncollectible accounts by pool:


	As of						As of
	December 31, 2022		Three Months Ended March 31, 2023				March 31, 2023
In thousands	Beginning Balance		Provision recorded, net of adjustments		Write-offs recognized, net of recoveries		Ending Balance
Allowance for uncollectible accounts:
Residential	$	2,155	$	1,063	$	(265)	$	2,953
Commercial	400		114		(33)		481
Industrial	188		14		(1)		201
Accrued unbilled and other	336		10		(44)		302
Total NW Natural	3,079		1,201		(343)		3,937
Other - NW Holdings	217		2,606		—		2,823
Total NW Holdings	$	3,296	$	3,807	$	(343)	$	6,760

In March 2023, NW Holdings and a third party entered into an agreement to resolve and settle outstanding disputes. Under the agreement, the third party agreed to pay NW Holdings $3.25 million. NW Holdings determined that the agreement provides certainty of amount and receivable, however, no payments have been received to date and collectability is uncertain. As such, the gain was not recognized in the first quarter of 2023 and a $2.6 million allowance was recorded.

Allowance for Net Investments in Sales-Type Leases

NW Natural currently holds two net investments in sales-type leases, with substantially all of the net investment balance related to the North Mist natural gas storage agreement with Portland General Electric (PGE) which is billed under an OPUC-approved rate schedule. See Note 7 for more information on the North Mist lease. Due to the nature of this service, PGE may recover the costs of the lease through general rate cases. Therefore, we expect the risk of loss due to the credit of this lessee to be remote. As such, no allowance for uncollectibility was recorded for our sales-type lease receivables. NW Natural will continue monitoring the credit health of the lessees and the overall economic environment, including the economic factors closely tied to the financial health of our current and future lessees.

Greenhouse Gas Allowances

NW Natural is subject to greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction requirements in Oregon and Washington. In Oregon, emission reduction compliance mechanisms include: 1) free compliance instruments distributed by the state, 2) Community Climate Investment (CCI) Credits, which act similar to carbon offsets, and 3) renewable natural gas. In Washington, NW Natural will either purchase or be allocated free emission allowances from the state for compliance. NW Natural will account for all purchased Oregon CCI Credits and Washington allowances as inventory at the lower of cost or market. Any compliance instruments or allowances that are acquired through government allocations will be accounted for as inventory at no cost. The compliance programs allow for the sale of the compliance instruments or allowances, and as a result, should NW Natural sell these it will recognize revenue when title to the instrument or allowance is transferred to a counterparty and NW Natural will recognize expense at the time of recognition of the related sale. As of March 31, 2023, NW Natural had $4.7 million of emissions allowances for compliance in Washington recorded as inventory and no CCI Credits in Oregon.

We measure the compliance obligation, which is based on emissions, at the carrying value of inventory held plus the fair value of any additional CCI Credits or emission allowances NW Natural would need to purchase to satisfy the obligations. As of March 31, 2023, NW Natural has not recognized a liability under the Oregon program for the purchase of CCI Credits. Under the Washington program, NW Natural has recognized a $6.3 million liability. We expect that the costs to comply with the Oregon and Washington programs will be recovered from utility customers through rates and the application of ASC 980 will also be applied. We expect this to result in the deferral of costs and recognition through NW Natural's regulatory processes.

New Accounting Standards

NW Natural and NW Holdings consider the applicability and impact of all accounting standards updates (ASUs) issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). ASUs not listed below were assessed and determined to be either not applicable or are expected to have minimal impact on consolidated financial position or results of operations.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

REFERENCE RATE REFORM. In March 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-04, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Facilitation of the Effects of Reference Rate Reform on Financial Reporting." The purpose of the amendment is to provide optional expedients and exceptions for applying generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions affected by reference rate reform if certain criteria are met. The amendments in this ASU apply only to contracts, hedging relationships, and other transactions that reference London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or another reference rate expected to be discontinued because of reference rate reform.

In January 2021, the FASB issued ASU 2021-01, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Scope." The purpose of the amendment is to clarify guidance on reference rate reform activities, specifically related to accounting for derivative contracts and certain hedging relationships affected by changes in the interest rates used for discounting, margining, and contract price alignment (the "discounting transition"). The amendments in ASUs 2020-04 and 2021-01 are effective for all entities as of March 12, 2020 through December 31, 2022.

In December 2022, the FASB issued ASU 2022-06, "Reference Rate Reform (Topic 848): Deferral of the Sunset Date of Topic 848." The purpose of the amendment is to defer the sunset date of Topic 848 from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2024, after which entities will no longer be permitted to apply the relief in Topic 848. The objective of the guidance in Topic 848 is to provide temporary relief during the transition period. The Board included a sunset provision within Topic 848 based on expectations of when the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) would cease being published. We do not expect the ASUs to materially affect the financial statements and disclosures of NW Holdings or NW Natural.

3. EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings or loss per share are computed using NW Holdings' net income or loss and the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for each period presented. Diluted earnings per share are computed in the same manner, except using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus the effects of the assumed exercise of stock options and the payment of estimated stock awards from other stock-based compensation plans that are outstanding at the end of each period presented. Anti-dilutive stock awards are excluded from the calculation of diluted earnings or loss per common share.

NW Holdings' diluted earnings or loss per share are calculated as follows:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands, except per share data		2023		2022


Net income		$	71,671	$	56,239
Average common shares outstanding - basic		35,609		31,187
Additional shares for stock-based compensation plans (See Note 8)		99		25
Average common shares outstanding - diluted		35,708		31,212






Earnings per share of common stock:
Basic		$	2.01	$	1.80
Diluted		$	2.01	$	1.80
Additional information:
Anti-dilutive shares		1		5

4. SEGMENT INFORMATION

We primarily operate in one reportable business segment, which is NW Natural's local gas distribution business and is referred to as the NGD segment. NW Natural and NW Holdings also have investments and business activities not specifically related to the NGD segment, which are aggregated and reported as other and described below for each entity.

Natural Gas Distribution

NW Natural's local gas distribution segment is a regulated utility principally engaged in the purchase, sale, and delivery of natural gas and related services to customers in Oregon and southwest Washington. In addition to NW Natural's local gas distribution business, the NGD segment also includes the portion of the Mist underground storage facility used to serve NGD customers, the North Mist gas storage expansion in Oregon, NWN Gas Reserves, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Corp, and NW Natural RNG Holding Company, LLC, a holding company established to invest in the development and procurement of regulated renewable natural gas for NW Natural.

NW Natural

NW Natural's activities in Other include Interstate Storage Services and third-party asset management services for the Mist facility in Oregon, appliance retail center operations, and corporate operating and non-operating revenues and expenses that cannot be allocated to NGD operations.

Earnings from Interstate Storage Services assets are primarily related to firm storage capacity revenues. Earnings from the Mist facility also include revenue, net of amounts shared with NGD customers, from management of NGD assets at Mist and upstream pipeline capacity when not needed to serve NGD customers. Under the Oregon sharing mechanism, NW Natural retains 80% of the pre-tax income from these services when the costs of the capacity were not included in NGD rates, or 10% of the pre-tax income when the costs have been included in these rates. The remaining 20% and 90%, respectively, are recorded to a deferred regulatory account for crediting back to NGD customers.

NW Holdings

NW Holdings' activities in Other include all remaining activities not associated with NW Natural, specifically: NWN Water, which consolidates the water and wastewater utility operations and is pursuing other investments in the water and wastewater sector through itself and wholly-owned subsidiaries; NWN Water's equity investment in Avion Water Company, Inc.; NWN Gas Storage, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NWN Energy; other pipeline assets in NNG Financial; and NW Natural Renewables Holdings, LLC and its non-regulated renewable natural gas activities. Other also includes corporate revenues and expenses that cannot be allocated to other operations, including certain business development activities.

Segment Information Summary

Inter-segment transactions were immaterial for the periods presented. The following table presents summary financial information concerning the reportable segment and other.


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	NGD		Other (NW Natural)		NW Natural		Other (NW Holdings)		NW Holdings
2023
Operating revenues	$	447,770	$	6,743	$	454,513	$	7,910	$	462,423
Depreciation	29,858		286		30,144		1,321		31,465
Income (loss) from operations	109,159		4,969		114,128		(620)		113,508
Net income (loss)	71,951		3,589		75,540		(3,869)		71,671
Capital expenditures	63,642		(44)		63,598		7,667		71,265
Total assets at March 31, 2023	4,246,245		54,390		4,300,635		291,461		4,592,096
2022
Operating revenues	$	341,398	$	5,226	$	346,624	$	3,677	$	350,301
Depreciation	27,373		264		27,637		792		28,429
Income (loss) from operations	85,663		2,888		88,551		(913)		87,638
Net income (loss)	55,390		2,026		57,416		(1,177)		56,239
Capital expenditures	64,280		37		64,317		4,197		68,514
Total assets at March 31, 2022	3,835,222		51,598		3,886,820		167,814		4,054,634
Total assets at December 31, 2022	4,392,699		60,019		4,452,718		295,608		4,748,326

Natural Gas Distribution Margin

NGD margin is the primary financial measure used by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM), consisting of NGD operating revenues, reduced by the associated cost of gas, environmental remediation expense, and revenue taxes. The cost of gas purchased for NGD customers is generally a pass-through cost in the amount of revenues billed to regulated NGD customers. Environmental remediation expense represents collections received from customers through environmental recovery mechanisms in Oregon and Washington as well as adjustments for the Oregon environmental earnings test when applicable. This is offset by environmental remediation expense presented in operating expenses. Revenue taxes are collected from NGD customers and remitted to taxing authorities. The collections from customers are offset by the expense recognition of the obligation to the taxing authority. By subtracting cost of gas, environmental remediation expense, and revenue taxes from NGD operating revenues, NGD margin provides a key metric used by the CODM in assessing the performance of the NGD segment.

The following table presents additional segment information concerning NGD margin:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022
NGD margin calculation:
NGD distribution revenues		$	443,061	$	336,487
Other regulated services		4,709		4,911
Total NGD operating revenues		447,770		341,398
Less: NGD cost of gas		205,805		145,644
Environmental remediation		5,375		4,698
Revenue taxes		18,975		13,324
NGD margin		$	217,615	$	177,732

5. COMMON STOCK

In August 2021, NW Holdings initiated an at-the-market (ATM) equity program by entering into an equity distribution agreement under which NW Holdings may issue and sell from time to time shares of common stock, no par value, having an aggregate gross sales price of up to $200 million. NW Holdings is under no obligation to offer and sell common stock under the ATM equity program, which expires in August 2024. Any shares of common stock offered under the ATM equity program are registered on NW Holdings’ universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, NW Holdings issued and sold 360,264 shares of common stock pursuant to the ATM equity program resulting in cash proceeds of $16.7 million, net of fees and commissions paid to agents of $0.2 million. As of March 31, 2023, NW Holdings had $94.1 million of equity available for issuance under the program. The ATM equity program was initiated to raise funds for general corporate purposes, including equity contributions to NW Holdings’ subsidiaries, NW Natural and NW Natural Water. We intend that contributions to NW Natural and NW Natural Water will be used for general corporate purposes.

On April 1, 2022, NW Holdings issued and sold 2,875,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-3 and related prospectus supplement. NW Holdings received net offering proceeds, after deducting the underwriter's discounts and commissions and expenses payable by NW Holdings, of approximately $138.6 million.

6. REVENUE

The following tables present disaggregated revenue:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	NGD		Other (NW Natural)		NW Natural		Other (NW Holdings)		NW Holdings
2023
Natural gas sales	$	451,394	$	—	$	451,394	$	—	$	451,394
Gas storage revenue, net	—		2,799		2,799		—		2,799
Asset management revenue, net	—		2,754		2,754		—		2,754
Appliance retail center revenue	—		1,190		1,190		—		1,190
Other revenue	730		—		730		7,910		8,640
Revenue from contracts with customers	452,124		6,743		458,867		7,910		466,777

Alternative revenue	(8,352)		—		(8,352)		—		(8,352)
Leasing revenue	3,998		—		3,998		—		3,998
Total operating revenues	$	447,770	$	6,743	$	454,513	$	7,910	$	462,423

2022
Natural gas sales	$	337,296	$	—	$	337,296	$	—	$	337,296
Gas storage revenue, net	—		2,757		2,757		—		2,757
Asset management revenue, net	—		752		752		—		752
Appliance retail center revenue	—		1,717		1,717		—		1,717
Other revenue	630		—		630		3,677		4,307
Revenue from contracts with customers	337,926		5,226		343,152		3,677		346,829

Alternative revenue	(827)		—		(827)		—		(827)
Leasing revenue	4,299		—		4,299		—		4,299
Total operating revenues	$	341,398	$	5,226	$	346,624	$	3,677	$	350,301

NW Natural's revenue represents substantially all of NW Holdings' revenue and is recognized for both registrants when the obligation to customers is satisfied and in the amount expected to be received in exchange for transferring goods or providing services. Revenue from contracts with customers contains one performance obligation that is generally satisfied over time, using the output method based on time elapsed, due to the continuous nature of the service provided. The transaction price is determined by a set price agreed upon in the contract or dependent on regulatory tariffs. Customer accounts are settled on a monthly basis or paid at time of sale and based on historical experience. It is probable that we will collect substantially all of the consideration to which we are entitled. We evaluated the probability of collection in accordance with the current expected credit losses standard.

NW Holdings and NW Natural do not have any material contract assets, as net accounts receivable and accrued unbilled revenue balances are unconditional and only involve the passage of time until such balances are billed and collected. NW Holdings and NW Natural do not have any material contract liabilities.

Revenue taxes are included in operating revenues with an equal and offsetting expense recognized in operating expenses in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. Revenue-based taxes are primarily franchise taxes, which are collected from NGD customers and remitted to taxing authorities.

Natural Gas Distribution

Natural Gas Sales

NW Natural's primary source of revenue is providing natural gas to customers in the NGD service territory, which includes residential, commercial, industrial and transportation customers. NGD revenue is generally recognized over time upon delivery of the gas commodity or service to the customer, and the amount of consideration received and recognized as revenue is dependent on the Oregon and Washington tariffs. Customer accounts are to be paid in full each month, and there is no right of return or warranty for services provided. Revenues include firm and interruptible sales and transportation services, franchise taxes recovered from the customer, late payment fees, service fees, and accruals for gas delivered but not yet billed (accrued unbilled revenue). The accrued unbilled revenue balance is based on estimates of deliveries during the period from the last meter reading and management judgment is required for a number of factors used in this calculation, including customer use and weather factors.

We applied the significant financing practical expedient and have not adjusted the consideration NW Natural expects to receive from NGD customers for the effects of a significant financing component as all payment arrangements are settled annually. Due to the election of the right to invoice practical expedient, we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations.

Alternative Revenue

Weather normalization (WARM) and decoupling mechanisms are considered to be alternative revenue programs. Alternative revenue programs are considered to be contracts between NW Natural and its regulator and are excluded from revenue from contracts with customers.

Leasing Revenue

Leasing revenue primarily consists of revenues from NW Natural's North Mist Storage contract with PGE in support of PGE's gas-fired electric power generation facilities under an initial 30-year contract with options to extend, totaling up to an additional 50 years upon mutual agreement of the parties. The facility is accounted for as a sales-type lease with regulatory accounting deferral treatment. The investment is included in rate base under an established cost-of-service tariff schedule, with revenues recognized according to the tariff schedule and as such, profit upon commencement was deferred and will be amortized over the lease term. Leasing revenue also contains rental revenue from small leases of property owned by NW Natural to third parties. The majority of these transactions are accounted for as operating leases and the revenue is recognized over the term of the lease agreement. Lease revenue is excluded from revenue from contracts with customers. See Note 7 for additional information.

NW Natural Other

Gas Storage Revenue

NW Natural's other revenue includes gas storage activity, which includes Interstate Storage Services used to store natural gas for customers. Gas storage revenue is generally recognized over time as the gas storage service is provided to the customer and the amount of consideration received and recognized as revenue is dependent on set rates defined per the storage agreements. Noncash consideration in the form of dekatherms of natural gas is received as consideration for providing gas injection services to gas storage customers. This noncash consideration is measured at fair value using the average spot rate. Customer accounts are generally paid in full each month, and there is no right of return or warranty for services provided. Revenues include firm and interruptible storage services, net of the profit sharing amount refunded to NGD customers.

Asset Management Revenue

Revenues include the optimization of third-party storage assets and pipeline capacity and are provided net of the profit sharing amount refunded to NGD customers. Certain asset management revenues received are recognized over time using a straight-line approach over the term of each contract, and the amount of consideration received and recognized as revenue is dependent on a variable pricing model. Variable revenues earned above guaranteed amounts are estimated and recognized at the end of each period using the most likely amount approach. Additionally, other asset management revenues may be based on a fixed rate. Generally, asset management accounts are settled on a monthly basis.

As of March 31, 2023, unrecognized revenue for the fixed component of the transaction price related to gas storage and asset management revenue was approximately $76.1 million. Of this amount, approximately $15.0 million will be recognized during the remainder of 2023, $16.2 million in 2024, $13.5 million in 2025, $9.4 million in 2026, $5.1 million in 2027 and $16.9 million thereafter. The amounts presented here are calculated using current contracted rates.

Appliance Retail Center Revenue

NW Natural owns and operates an appliance store that is open to the public, where customers can purchase natural gas home appliances. Revenue from the sale of appliances is recognized at the point in time in which the appliance is transferred to the third party responsible for delivery and installation services and when the customer has legal title to the appliance. It is required that the sale be paid for in full prior to transfer of legal title. The amount of consideration received and recognized as revenue varies with changes in marketing incentives and discounts offered to customers.

NW Holdings Other

NW Holdings' primary source of other revenue is providing water and wastewater services to customers. Water and wastewater service revenue is generally recognized over time upon delivery of the water commodity or service to the customer, and the amount of consideration received and recognized as revenue is dependent on the tariffs established in the states we operate. Customer accounts are to be paid in full each month or bi-monthly, and there is no right of return or warranty for services provided.

We applied the significant financing practical expedient and have not adjusted the consideration we expect to receive from water distribution and wastewater collection customers for the effects of a significant financing component as all payment arrangements are settled annually. Due to the election of the right to invoice practical expedient, we do not disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations.

7. LEASES

Lease Revenue

Leasing revenue primarily consists of NW Natural's North Mist natural gas storage agreement with PGE, which is billed under an OPUC-approved rate schedule and includes an initial 30-year term beginning May 2019 with options to extend, totaling up to an additional 50 years upon mutual agreement of the parties. Under U.S. GAAP, this agreement is classified as a sales-type lease and qualifies for regulatory accounting deferral treatment. The investment in the storage facility is included in rate base under a separately established cost-of-service tariff, with revenues recognized according to the tariff schedule. As such, the selling profit that was calculated upon commencement as part of the sale-type lease recognition was deferred and will be amortized over the lease term. Billing rates under the cost-of-service tariff will be updated annually to reflect current information including depreciable asset levels, forecasted operating expenses, and the results of regulatory proceedings, as applicable, and revenue received under this agreement is recognized as operating revenue on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. There are no variable payments or residual value guarantees. The lease does not contain an option to purchase the underlying assets.

NW Natural also maintains a sales-type lease for specialized compressor facilities to provide high pressure compressed natural gas (CNG) services. Lease payments are outlined in an OPUC-approved rate schedule over a 10-year term. There are no variable payments or residual value guarantees. The selling profit computed upon lease commencement was not significant.

Our lessor portfolio also contains small leases of property owned by NW Natural and NW Holdings to third parties. These transactions are accounted for as operating leases and the revenue is recognized over the term of the lease agreement.

The components of lease revenue at NW Natural were as follows:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022
Lease revenue
Operating leases		$	19	$	18
Sales-type leases		3,979		4,281
Total lease revenue		$	3,998	$	4,299

Additionally, lease revenue of $0.2 million and $0.1 million was recognized for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, related to operating leases associated with non-utility property rentals. Lease revenue related to these leases was presented in other income (expense), net on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income as it is non-operating income.

Total future minimum lease payments to be received under non-cancelable leases at March 31, 2023 are as follows:


In thousands	Operating		Sales-Type		Total
NW Natural:
Remainder of 2023	$	466	$	12,376	$	12,842
2024	613		15,867		16,480
2025	604		15,306		15,910
2026	36		14,901		14,937
2027	22		14,521		14,543
Thereafter	—		222,299		222,299
Total minimum lease payments	$	1,741	$	295,270	$	297,011
Less: imputed interest			162,326
Total leases receivable			$	132,944


Other (NW Holdings):
Remainder of 2023	$	38	$	—	$	38
2024	52		—		52
2025	53		—		53
2026	56		—		56
2027	57		—		57
Thereafter	857		—		857
Total minimum lease payments	$	1,113	$	—	$	1,113

NW Holdings:
Remainder of 2023	$	504	$	12,376	$	12,880
2024	665		15,867		16,532
2025	657		15,306		15,963
2026	92		14,901		14,993
2027	79		14,521		14,600
Thereafter	857		222,299		223,156
Total minimum lease payments	$	2,854	$	295,270	$	298,124
Less: imputed interest			162,326
Total leases receivable			$	132,944

The total leases receivable above is reported under the NGD segment and the short- and long-term portions are included within other current assets and assets under sales-type leases on the consolidated balance sheets, respectively. The total amount of unguaranteed residual assets was $5.2 million, $4.8 million and $5.1 million at March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022, respectively, and is included in assets under sales-type leases on the consolidated balance sheets. Additionally, under regulatory accounting, the revenues and expenses associated with these agreements are presented on the consolidated statements of comprehensive income such that their presentation aligns with similar regulated activities at NW Natural.

Lease Expense

Operating Leases

We have operating leases for land, buildings and equipment. Our primary lease is for NW Natural's headquarters and operations center. Our leases have remaining lease terms of 6 months to 17 years. Many of our lease agreements include options to extend the lease, which we do not include in our minimum lease terms unless they are reasonably certain to be exercised. Short-term leases with a term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. As most of our leases do not provide an implicit rate and are entered into by NW Natural, we use an estimated discount rate representing the rate we would have incurred to finance the funds necessary to purchase the leased asset and is based on information available at the lease commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments.

The components of lease expense, a portion of which is capitalized, were as follows:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022
NW Natural:
Operating lease expense		$	1,775	$	1,727
Short-term lease expense		80		163

Other (NW Holdings):
Operating lease expense		$	40	$	7


NW Holdings:
Operating lease expense		$	1,815	$	1,734
Short-term lease expense		80		163

Supplemental balance sheet information related to operating leases as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022 is as follows:


In thousands	March 31,				December 31,
	2023		2022		2022
NW Natural:
Operating lease right of use asset	$	72,077	$	74,361	$	72,720

Operating lease liabilities - current liabilities	$	1,538	$	1,286	$	1,363
Operating lease liabilities - non-current liabilities	77,840		79,125		78,345
Total operating lease liabilities	$	79,378	$	80,411	$	79,708

Other (NW Holdings):
Operating lease right of use asset	$	622	$	55	$	709

Operating lease liabilities - current liabilities	$	162	$	17	$	151
Operating lease liabilities - non-current liabilities	462		37		620
Total operating lease liabilities	$	624	$	54	$	771

NW Holdings:
Operating lease right of use asset	$	72,699	$	74,416	$	73,429

Operating lease liabilities - current liabilities	$	1,700	$	1,303	$	1,514
Operating lease liabilities - non-current liabilities	78,302		79,162		78,965
Total operating lease liabilities	$	80,002	$	80,465	$	80,479

The weighted-average remaining lease terms and weighted-average discount rates for the operating leases at NW Natural were as follows:


In thousands	March 31,				December 31,
	2023		2022		2022
Weighted-average remaining lease term (years)	17.0		18.0		17.2
Weighted-average discount rate	7.3	%	7.2	%	7.3	%

Headquarters and Operations Center Lease

NW Natural commenced a 20-year operating lease agreement in March 2020 for a new headquarters and operations center in Portland, Oregon. There is an option to extend the term of the lease for two additional periods of seven years. There is a material timing difference between the minimum lease payments and expense recognition as calculated under operating lease accounting rules. OPUC issued an order allowing us to align our expense recognition with cash payments for ratemaking purposes. We recorded the difference between the minimum lease payments and the aggregate of the imputed interest on the finance lease obligation and amortization of the right-of-use asset as a deferred regulatory asset on our balance sheet. The balance of the regulatory asset was $7.2 million, $6.0 million and $6.9 million as of March 31, 2023 and 2022 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

Maturities of operating lease liabilities at March 31, 2023 were as follows:


In thousands	NW Natural		Other (NW Holdings)		NW Holdings
Remainder of 2023	$	5,402	$	148	$	5,550
2024	7,299		196		7,495
2025	7,185		183		7,368
2026	7,353		140		7,493
2027	7,530		107		7,637
Thereafter	108,901		12		108,913
Total lease payments	143,670		786		144,456
Less: imputed interest	64,292		162		64,454
Total lease obligations	79,378		624		80,002
Less: current obligations	1,538		162		1,700
Long-term lease obligations	$	77,840	$	462	$	78,302

As of March 31, 2023, there were no finance lease liabilities at NW Natural.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:



































	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022
NW Natural:
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases		$	1,767	$	1,733
Finance cash flows from finance leases		173		75
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations
Operating leases		$	—	$	14
Finance leases		173		100



Other (NW Holdings):
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases		$	39	$	6

Right of use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations

Finance leases		$	90	$	—



NW Holdings:
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities
Operating cash flows from operating leases		$	1,806	$	1,739
Finance cash flows from finance leases		173		75
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations
Operating leases		$	—	$	14
Finance leases		263		100

Finance Leases

NW Natural also leases building storage spaces for use as a gas meter room in order to provide natural gas to multifamily or mixed use developments. These contracts are accounted for as finance leases and typically involve a one-time upfront payment with no remaining liability. The right of use assets for finance leases were $2.4 million, $2.2 million and $2.3 million at March 31, 2023 and 2022 and at December 31, 2022, respectively.

8. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Stock-based compensation plans are designed to promote stock ownership in NW Holdings by employees, including officers. These compensation plans include a Long Term Incentive Plan (LTIP) and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP). For additional information on stock-based compensation plans, see Note 8 in the 2022 Form 10-K and the updates provided below.

Long Term Incentive Plan

Performance Shares

LTIP performance shares incorporate a combination of market, performance, and service-based factors. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the final performance factor under the 2021 LTIP was approved and 55,250 performance-based shares were granted under the 2021 LTIP for accounting purposes. As such, NW Natural and other subsidiaries began recognizing compensation expense. In February 2022 and 2023, LTIP shares were awarded to participants; however, the agreements allow for one of the performance factors to remain variable until the first quarter of the third year of the award period. As the performance factor will not be approved until the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, respectively, there is not a mutual understanding of the awards' key terms and conditions between NW Holdings and the participants as of March 31, 2023, and therefore, no expense was recognized for the 2022 and 2023 awards. NW Holdings will calculate the grant date fair value and NW Natural will recognize expense over the remaining service period for each award once the final performance factor has been approved.

For the 2022 and 2023 LTIP awards, share payouts range from a threshold of 0% to a maximum of 200% based on achievement of pre-established goals. The performance criteria for the 2022 and 2023 performance shares consists of a three-year Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) threshold that must be satisfied and a cumulative EPS factor, which can be modified by a total shareholder return factor (TSR modifier) relative to the performance of peer group companies over the performance period of three years for each respective award. If the targets were achieved for the 2021 and 2022 awards, NW Holdings would grant for accounting purposes 55,870 and 59,330 shares in the first quarters of 2024 and 2025, respectively.

As of March 31, 2023, there was $0.6 million of unrecognized compensation cost associated with the 2021 LTIP grants, which is expected to be recognized through 2023.

Restricted Stock Units

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, 45,532 RSUs were granted under the LTIP with a weighted-average grant date fair value of $48.24 per share. Generally, the RSUs awarded are forfeitable and include a performance-based threshold as well as a vesting period of four years from the grant date. The majority of our RSU grants obligate NW Holdings, upon vesting, to issue the RSU holder one share of common stock. The grant may also include a cash payment equal to the total amount of dividends paid per share between the grant date and vesting date of that portion of the RSU depending on the structure of the award agreement. The fair value of an RSU is equal to the closing market price of NW Holdings' common stock on the grant date. As of March 31, 2023, there was $4.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost from grants of RSUs, which is expected to be recognized over a period extending through 2027.

9. DEBT

Short-Term Debt

At March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022, short-term debt consisted of the following:


	March 31, 2023				March 31, 2022				December 31, 2022
In millions	Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)
NW Natural:
Commercial paper	$	—	—	%	$	188.5	0.8	%	$	170.2	4.6	%
Other (NW Holdings):
Credit agreement	72.5		5.9	%	144.0		1.5	%	88.0		5.3	%
NW Holdings	$	72.5			$	332.5			$	258.2

(1) Weighted average interest rate on outstanding short-term debt

Long-Term Debt

At March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022, NW Holdings' long-term debt consisted of the following:


	March 31, 2023				March 31, 2022				December 31, 2022
In millions	Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(2)
NW Natural first mortgage bonds	$	1,334.7	4.6	%	$	994.7	4.4	%	$	1,134.7	4.5	%
NW Holdings credit agreement	100.0		5.4	%	—		—	%	100.0		4.2	%
NWN Water credit agreement	50.0		5.3	%	—		—	%	50.0		4.2	%
NWN Water term loan	55.0		4.9	%	55.0		1.2	%	55.0		2.5	%
Other long-term debt	6.0				3.5				6.2
Long-term debt, gross	$	1,545.7			$	1,053.2			$	1,345.9
Less: unamortized debt issuance costs	10.4				8.2				9.0
Less: current maturities	240.7				0.3				90.7
Total long-term debt	$	1,294.6			$	1,044.7			$	1,246.2

(1) Weighted average interest rate for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and March 31, 2022

(2) Weighted average interest rate for the year ended December 31, 2022

NW Natural's first mortgage bonds (FMBs) have maturity dates ranging from 2023 through 2053 and interest rates ranging from 2.8% to 7.9%. The credit agreements at NW Holdings and NWN Water have maturity dates in 2024 and the NWN Water term loan is due in 2026.

In March 2023, NW Natural issued and sold $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of 5.75% Secured Medium-Term Notes, Series B due 2033 (the Notes). The Notes bear interest at the rate of 5.75% per annum, payable semi-annually on March 15 and September 15 of each year.

In December 2022, NW Natural entered into a Bond Purchase Agreement between NW Natural and the institutional investors named as purchasers therein. The Bond Purchase Agreement provides for the issuance of (i) $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s FMBs, 5.43% Series due 2053 (5.43% Bonds), (ii) $80.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s FMBs, 5.18% Series due 2034 (5.18% Bonds) and (iii) $50.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s FMBs, 5.23% Series due 2038 (5.23% Bonds) in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

In January 2023, NW Natural issued and sold $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of its FMBs, 5.43% Series due

January 2053, to certain institutional investors pursuant to the Bond Purchase Agreement. The 5.43% Bonds bear interest at the rate of 5.43% per annum, payable semi-annually on January 6 and July 6 of each year, commencing July 6, 2023, and will mature on January 6, 2053.

The 5.18% Bonds and the 5.23% Bonds are expected to be issued on or about August 4, 2023, pursuant to the Twenty-sixth Supplemental Indenture to the Mortgage. The 5.18% Bonds will bear interest at the rate of 5.18% per annum, payable semi-annually on February 4 and August 4 of each year, commencing February 4, 2024, and will mature on August 4, 2034. The 5.23% Bonds will bear interest at the rate of 5.23% per annum, payable semi-annually on February 4 and August 4 of each year, commencing February 4, 2024, and will mature on August 4, 2038.

In September 2022, NW Holdings entered into an 18-month credit agreement for $100.0 million and borrowed the full amount. The interest rate is based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR). The loan is due and payable on March 15, 2024. The credit agreement prohibits NW Holdings from permitting consolidated indebtedness to be greater than 70% of total capitalization, each as defined therein and calculated as of the end of each fiscal quarter. Failure to comply with this financial covenant would entitle the lenders to accelerate the maturity of the amounts outstanding under the credit agreement. NW Holdings was in compliance with this financial covenant as of March 31, 2023. In December 2022, NW Holdings entered into a swap to fix the interest rate on this debt beginning in January 2023 through the loan's maturity. See "Interest Rate Swap Agreements" below for more detail.

In September 2022, NWN Water entered into an 18-month credit agreement for $50.0 million and borrowed the full amount. The interest rate is based on the SOFR. The loan is due and payable on March 15, 2024. The credit agreement prohibits NWN Water and NW Holdings from permitting consolidated indebtedness to be greater than 70% of total capitalization, each as defined therein and calculated as of the end of each fiscal quarter. Failure to comply with this financial covenant would entitle the lenders to accelerate the maturity of the amounts outstanding under the credit agreement. NWN Water and NW Holdings were in compliance with this financial covenant as of March 31, 2023.

In July 2022, NW Natural entered into a Bond Purchase Agreement between NW Natural and the institutional investors named as purchasers therein (the Bond Purchase Agreement). The Bond Purchase Agreement provides for the issuance of $140.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural's First Mortgage Bonds due in 2052 (the Bonds). The Bonds were issued on September 30, 2022. The Bonds bear interest at the rate of 4.8% per annum, payable semi-annually on March 30 and September 30 of each year, commencing March 30, 2023, and will mature on September 30, 2052.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

NW Holdings and NWN Water entered into interest rate swap agreements with major financial institutions that effectively converted variable-rate debt to a fixed rate. Interest payments made between the effective date and expiration date are hedged by the swap agreements. The notional amount, effective date, expiration date and rate of the swap agreements are shown in the table below:


In millions	Notional Amount		Effective Date	Expiration Date	Fixed Rate
NW Holdings	$	100.0	1/17/2023	3/15/2024	4.7	%
NWN Water	$	55.0	1/19/2023	6/10/2026	3.8	%

Fair Value of Long-Term Debt

NW Holdings' and NW Natural's outstanding debt does not trade in active markets. The fair value of debt is estimated using the value of outstanding debt at natural gas distribution companies with similar credit ratings, terms, and remaining maturities to NW Holdings' and NW Natural's debt that actively trade in public markets. These valuations are based on Level 2 inputs as defined in the fair value hierarchy. See Note 2 in the 2022 Form 10-K for a description of the fair value hierarchy.

The following table provides an estimate of the fair value of long-term debt, including current maturities of long-term debt, using market prices in effect on the valuation date:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
NW Natural:
Gross long-term debt	$	1,334,700	$	994,700	$	1,134,700
Unamortized debt issuance costs	(10,278)		(8,073)		(8,823)
Carrying amount	$	1,324,422	$	986,627	$	1,125,877
Estimated fair value(1)	$	1,186,110	$	997,196	$	944,383

NW Holdings:
Gross long-term debt	$	1,545,730	$	1,053,177	$	1,345,851
Unamortized debt issuance costs	(10,428)		(8,171)		(8,987)
Carrying amount	$	1,535,302	$	1,045,006	$	1,336,864
Estimated fair value(1)	$	1,395,321	$	1,059,629	$	1,148,395

(1) Estimated fair value does not include unamortized debt issuance costs.

10. PENSION AND OTHER POSTRETIREMENT BENEFIT COSTS

NW Natural maintains a qualified non-contributory defined benefit pension plan (Pension Plan), non-qualified supplemental pension plans for eligible executive officers and other key employees, and other postretirement employee benefit plans. NW Natural also has a qualified defined contribution plan (Retirement K Savings Plan) for all eligible employees. The Pension Plan and Retirement K Savings Plan have plan assets, which are held in qualified trusts to fund retirement benefits.

The service cost component of net periodic benefit cost for NW Natural pension and other postretirement benefit plans is recognized in operations and maintenance expense in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. The other non-service cost components are recognized in other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

The following table provides the components of net periodic benefit cost (credit) for the pension and other postretirement benefit plans:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
		Pension Benefits	Other Postretirement Benefits
In thousands			2023		2022		2023		2022
Service cost			$	1,049	$	1,530	$	28	$	47
Interest cost			5,218		3,659		248		180
Expected return on plan assets			(6,661)		(6,427)		—		—
Amortization of prior service credit			—		—		—		(83)
Amortization of net actuarial loss			139		3,198		—		99

Net periodic benefit cost (credit)			(255)		1,960		276		243
Amount allocated to construction			(474)		(664)		(11)		(18)

Net periodic benefit cost (credit) charged to expense			(729)		1,296		265		225

Amortization of regulatory balancing account			2,801		2,801		—		—
Net amount charged to expense			$	2,072	$	4,097	$	265	$	225

Net periodic benefit costs are reduced by amounts capitalized to NGD plant. In addition, net periodic benefit costs were recorded to a regulatory balancing account as approved by the OPUC and amortized accordingly.

The following table presents amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss (AOCL) and the changes in AOCL related to non-qualified employee benefit plans:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands		2023		2022
Beginning balance		$	(6,414)	$	(11,404)

Amounts reclassified from AOCL:
Amortization of actuarial losses		139		268

Total reclassifications before tax		139		268
Tax benefit		(37)		(71)
Total reclassifications for the period		102		197
Ending balance		$	(6,312)	$	(11,207)

Employer Contributions to Company-Sponsored Defined Benefit Pension Plans

NW Natural made no cash contributions to its qualified defined benefit pension plans during the three months ended March 31, 2023 or 2022. NW Natural does not expect to make any plan contributions during the remainder of 2023 as a result of adopting the American Rescue Plan Act.

Defined Contribution Plan

NW Natural's Retirement K Savings Plan is a qualified defined contribution plan under Internal Revenue Code Sections 401(a) and 401(k). NW Natural contributions totaled $3.4 million and $2.9 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

See Note 10 in the 2022 Form 10-K for more information concerning these retirement and other postretirement benefit plans.

11. INCOME TAX

An estimate of annual income tax expense is made each interim period using estimates for annual pre-tax income, regulatory flow-through adjustments, tax credits, and other items. The estimated annual effective tax rate is applied to year-to-date, pre-tax income to determine income tax expense for the interim period consistent with the annual estimate. Discrete events are recorded in the interim period in which they occur or become known.

The effective income tax rate varied from the federal statutory rate due to the following:
















	Three Months Ended March 31,
	NW Holdings						NW Natural
In thousands	2023			2022			2023			2022
Income tax at statutory rate (federal)	$	20,332		$	15,783		$	21,412		$	16,115
State income tax	8,149			6,513			8,406			6,584
Increase (decrease):
Differences required to be flowed-through by regulatory commissions	(2,909)			(3,173)			(2,909)			(3,173)
Other, net	(425)			(200)			(487)			(203)
Total provision for income taxes	$	25,147		$	18,923		$	26,422		$	19,323

Effective income tax rate	26.0		%	25.2		%	25.9		%	25.2		%

The NW Holdings and NW Natural effective income tax rates for the three months ended March 31, 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 changed primarily as a result of changes in pre-tax income. See Note 11 in the 2022 Form 10-K for more detail on income taxes and effective tax rates.

The IRS Compliance Assurance Process (CAP) examination of the 2021 tax year continued during the first quarter of 2023. No material changes are expected to be made to the return as filed. The 2022 and 2023 tax years are subject to examination under CAP.

12. PROPERTY, PLANT, AND EQUIPMENT

The following table sets forth the major classifications of property, plant, and equipment and accumulated depreciation:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
NW Natural:
NGD plant in service	$	4,026,183	$	3,740,105	$	3,992,676
NGD construction work in progress	97,128		156,575		78,897
Less: Accumulated depreciation	1,131,256		1,108,930		1,115,690
NGD plant, net	2,992,055		2,787,750		2,955,883
Other plant in service	70,364		69,333		70,368
Other construction work in progress	6,624		5,037		6,606
Less: Accumulated depreciation	21,804		20,907		21,541
Other plant, net	55,184		53,463		55,433
Total property, plant, and equipment, net	$	3,047,239	$	2,841,213	$	3,011,316

Other (NW Holdings):
Other plant in service	$	97,286	$	58,301	$	92,979
Other construction work in progress	22,891		12,543		20,040
Less: Accumulated depreciation	11,438		7,301		9,935
Other plant, net	$	108,739	$	63,543	$	103,084

NW Holdings:
Total property, plant, and equipment, net	$	3,155,978	$	2,904,756	$	3,114,400

NW Natural:
Capital expenditures in accrued liabilities	$	17,255	$	45,964	$	24,584

NW Holdings:
Capital expenditures in accrued liabilities	$	17,730	$	47,797	$	25,318

NW Natural

Other plant balances include non-utility gas storage assets at the Mist facility and other long-lived assets not related to NGD.

NW Holdings

Other plant balances include long-lived assets associated with water and wastewater operations and non-regulated activities not held by NW Natural or its subsidiaries.

13. INVESTMENTS

Investments include gas reserves, financial investments in life insurance policies, and equity method investments. The following table summarizes other investments:


	NW Holdings						NW Natural
	March 31,				December 31,		March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022		2023		2022		2022
Investments in life insurance policies	$	47,666	$	48,486	$	49,358	$	47,666	$	48,486	$	49,358
Investments in gas reserves, non-current	22,229		25,364		22,970		22,229		25,364		22,970
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates	23,716		22,416		23,376		8,207		7,947		7,782
Total other investments	$	93,611	$	96,266	$	95,704	$	78,102	$	81,797	$	80,110

Investment in Life Insurance Policies

Other investments include financial investments in life insurance policies, which are accounted for at cash surrender value, net of policy loans. See Note 13 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

NW Natural Gas Reserves

NW Natural has invested $188 million through the gas reserves program in the Jonah Field located in Wyoming as of March 31, 2023. Gas reserves are stated at cost, net of regulatory amortization, with the associated deferred tax benefits of $4.4 million, $11.0 million, and $5.2 million, which are recorded as liabilities in the March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2022 consolidated balance sheets, respectively. NW Natural's investment is included in NW Holdings' and NW Natural's consolidated balance sheets under other current assets and other investments (non-current portion) with the maximum loss exposure limited to the investment balance. The amount of gas reserves included in other current assets was $3.3 million, $5.2 million, and $3.4 million as of March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2022, respectively. See Note 13 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

Investments in Unconsolidated Affiliates

In December 2021, NW Natural Water purchased a 37.3% ownership stake in Avion Water Company, Inc. (Avion Water), an investor-owned water utility for $14.5 million. In July 2022, NW Natural Water increased its ownership stake in Avion Water to 40.3% for an additional $1.0 million. Avion Water operates in Bend, Oregon and the surrounding communities, serving approximately 15,000 customer connections and employing 35 people. The carrying value of the equity method investment is $9.5 million higher than the underlying equity in the net assets of the investee at March 31, 2023 due to equity method goodwill. NW Natural Water's share in the earnings (loss) of Avion Water is included in other income (expense), net.

In 2020, NW Natural began a partnership with BioCarbN to invest in up to four separate renewable natural gas (RNG) development projects that are designed to access biogas derived from water treatment at Tyson Foods’ processing plants, subject to approval by all parties. During the construction phase of the projects, NW Natural determined it is the primary beneficiary and fully consolidates each entity. In 2022, commissioning of the first project, Lexington Renewable Energy LLC (Lexington), was completed. NW Natural determined it was no longer the primary beneficiary, deconsolidated the variable interest entity and recorded the investment in Lexington as an equity method investment. As of March 31, 2023, NW Natural had an investment balance in Lexington of $8.2 million. NW Natural's share in the earnings (loss) of Lexington is included in cost of gas.

14. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

2023 Business Combinations

During the three months ended March 31, 2023, NWN Water and its subsidiaries completed one acquisition qualifying as a business combination. The fair value of the preliminary consideration transferred for this acquisition was not significant to NW Holdings' results of operations.

2022 Business Combinations

During 2022, NWN Water and its subsidiaries acquired the assets of seven businesses qualifying as business combinations. The aggregate fair value of the preliminary consideration transferred for these acquisitions was $105.7 million, most of which was preliminarily allocated to property, plant and equipment and goodwill. These transactions align with NW Holdings' water and wastewater sector strategy as it continues to expand its service territories and included:

•Far West Water & Sewer, Inc. in Arizona

•Belle Oaks Water and Sewer Co., Inc in Texas

•Northwest Water Services, LLC in Washington

•Aquarius Utilities, LLC in Washington

•Valiant Idaho, LLC (The Idaho Club - Sewer) in Idaho

•Caney Creek in Texas

•Water Necessities, Inc. and Rural Water Co. in Texas

As each of these acquisitions met the criteria of a business combination, a preliminary allocation of the consideration to the acquired net assets based on their estimated fair value as of the acquisition date was performed. The allocation for each of these business combinations is considered preliminary as of March 31, 2023. In accordance with U.S. GAAP, the fair value determination involves management judgment in determining the significant estimates and assumptions used and was made using existing regulatory conditions for net assets. These allocations are considered preliminary as of March 31, 2023, as facts and circumstances that existed as of the acquisition date may be discovered as we continue to integrate the acquired businesses. As a result, subsequent adjustments to the preliminary valuation of tangible assets, contract assets and liabilities, tax positions, and goodwill may be required. Subsequent adjustments are not expected to be significant, and any such adjustments are expected to be completed within the one-year measurement period for all acquisitions described above.

Goodwill

NW Holdings allocates goodwill to reporting units based on the expected benefit from the business combination. We perform an annual impairment assessment of goodwill at the reporting unit level, or more frequently if events and circumstances indicate that goodwill might be impaired. An impairment loss is recognized if the carrying value of a reporting unit’s goodwill exceeds its fair value.

As a result of all acquisitions completed, total goodwill was $149.8 million, $70.6 million, and $149.3 million as of March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022, and December 31, 2022, respectively. All of our goodwill is related to water and wastewater acquisitions and is included in the other category for segment reporting purposes. The annual impairment assessment of goodwill occurs in the fourth quarter of each year. There have been no impairments recognized to date.

15. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS

NW Natural

NW Natural enters into financial derivative contracts to hedge a portion of the NGD segment's natural gas sales requirements. These contracts include swaps, options, and option combinations. These derivative financial instruments are primarily used to manage commodity price variability. A small portion of NW Natural's derivative hedging strategy involves foreign currency forward contracts.

NW Natural enters into these financial derivatives, up to prescribed limits, primarily to hedge price variability related to term physical gas supply contracts. The foreign currency forward contracts are used to hedge the fluctuation in foreign currency exchange rates for pipeline demand charges paid in Canadian dollars.

In the normal course of business, NW Natural also enters into indexed-price physical forward natural gas commodity purchase contracts and options to meet the requirements of NGD customers. These contracts qualify for regulatory deferral accounting treatment.

Notional Amounts

The following table presents the absolute notional amounts related to open positions on NW Natural derivative instruments:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
Natural gas (in therms):
Financial	681,850		449,710		852,435
Physical	295,382		317,840		463,254
Foreign exchange	$	10,444	$	5,216	$	7,617

Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)

Rates and hedging approaches may vary between states due to different rate structures and mechanisms. Under the PGA mechanism in Oregon, derivatives entered into by NW Natural for the procurement or hedging of natural gas for future gas years generally receive regulatory deferral accounting treatment. In general, commodity hedging for the current gas year is completed prior to the start of the gas year, and hedge prices are reflected in the weighted-average cost of gas in the PGA filing. Hedge contracts entered into after the start of the PGA period are subject to the PGA incentive sharing mechanism in Oregon. Under the PGA mechanism in Washington, NW Natural incorporates a risk-responsive hedging strategy, and receives regulatory deferral accounting treatment for its Washington gas supplies.

NW Natural entered the 2022-23 gas year with forecasted sales volume hedged at approximately 84% in total, including 67% in financial hedges and 17% in physical gas supplies.

Unrealized and Realized Gain/Loss

The following table reflects the income statement presentation for the unrealized gains and losses from NW Natural's derivative instruments:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2023				2022
In thousands	Natural gas commodity		Foreign exchange		Natural gas commodity		Foreign exchange
Benefit (expense) to cost of gas	$	(61,321)	$	13	$	73,785	$	80
Operating revenues (expense)	—		—		—		—
Amounts deferred to regulatory accounts on balance sheet	61,321		(13)		(73,785)		(80)
Total gain (loss) in pre-tax earnings	$	—	$	—	$	—	$	—

Unrealized Gain/Loss

Outstanding derivative instruments related to regulated NGD operations are deferred in accordance with regulatory accounting standards. The cost of foreign currency forward and natural gas derivative contracts are recognized immediately in the cost of gas; however, costs above or below the amount embedded in the current year PGA are subject to a regulatory deferral tariff and therefore, are recorded as a regulatory asset or liability.

Realized Gain/Loss

NW Natural realized net gains of $172.4 million and $36.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively from the settlement of natural gas financial derivative contracts. Realized gains and losses offset the higher or lower cost of gas purchased, resulting in no incremental amounts to collect or refund to customers.

Credit Risk Management of Financial Derivatives Instruments

No collateral was posted with or by NW Natural counterparties as of March 31, 2023 or 2022. NW Natural attempts to minimize the potential exposure to collateral calls by diversifying counterparties and using credit limits to manage liquidity risk. Counterparties generally allow a certain credit limit threshold before requiring NW Natural to post collateral against unrealized loss positions. Given NW Natural's credit ratings, counterparty credit limits and portfolio diversification, it was not subject to collateral calls in 2023 or 2022. The collateral call exposure is set forth under credit support agreements, which generally contain credit limits. NW Natural could also be subject to collateral call exposure where it has agreed to provide adequate assurance, which is not specific as to the amount of credit limit allowed, but could potentially require additional collateral posting by NW Natural in the event of a material adverse change.

NW Natural's financial derivative instruments are subject to master netting arrangements; however, they are presented on a gross basis in the consolidated balance sheets. NW Natural and its counterparties have the ability to set-off obligations to each other under specified circumstances. Such circumstances may include a defaulting party, a credit change due to a merger affecting either party, or any other termination event.

If netted by counterparty, NW Natural's physical and financial derivative position would result in an asset of $1.6 million and a liability of $51.5 million as of March 31, 2023, an asset of $89.3 million and a liability of $2.4 million as of March 31, 2022, and an asset of $153.3 million and a liability of $3.6 million as of December 31, 2022.

NW Natural is exposed to derivative credit and liquidity risk primarily through securing fixed price natural gas commodity swaps with financial counterparties. NW Natural utilizes master netting arrangements through International Swaps and Derivatives Association contracts to minimize this risk along with collateral support agreements with counterparties based on their credit ratings. Additionally, NW Natural uses counterparty, industry, sector and country diversification to minimize credit risk. In certain cases, NW Natural may require counterparties to post collateral, guarantees, or letters of credit to maintain its minimum credit requirement standards. See Note 15 in the 2022 Form 10-K for additional information.

Fair Value

In accordance with fair value accounting, NW Natural includes non-performance risk in calculating fair value adjustments. This includes a credit risk adjustment based on the credit spreads of NW Natural counterparties when in an unrealized gain position, or on NW Natural's own credit spread when it is in an unrealized loss position. The inputs in our valuation models include natural gas futures, volatility, credit default swap spreads and interest rates. Additionally, the assessment of non-performance risk is generally derived from the credit default swap market and from bond market credit spreads. The impact of the credit risk adjustment for all financial derivatives outstanding to the fair value calculation was $2.4 million, which decreased the liability at March 31, 2023. The net fair value was a liability of $49.9 million, an asset of $86.9 million, and an asset of $149.7 million as of March 31, 2023 and 2022, and December 31, 2022, respectively. No Level 3 inputs were used in our derivative valuations during the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. See Note 2 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

NW Holdings


In millions	Notional Amount		Effective Date	Expiration Date	Fixed Rate
NW Holdings	$	100.0	1/17/2023	3/15/2024	4.7	%
NWN Water	$	55.0	1/19/2023	6/10/2026	3.8	%

Unrealized gains and losses related to these interest rate swap agreements are recorded in AOCI on the consolidated balance sheet and totaled $282 thousand, net of tax, as of March 31, 2023. There were no amounts reclassified from AOCI to net income during the year ended March 31, 2023.

16. ENVIRONMENTAL MATTERS

NW Natural owns, or previously owned, properties that may require environmental remediation or action. The range of loss for environmental liabilities is estimated based on current remediation technology, enacted laws and regulations, industry experience gained at similar sites, and an assessment of the probable level of involvement and financial condition of other potentially responsible parties (PRPs). When amounts are prudently expended related to site remediation of those sites described herein, NW Natural has recovery mechanisms in place to collect 96.7% of remediation costs allocable to Oregon customers and 3.3% of costs allocable to Washington customers.

These sites are subject to the remediation process prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ). The process begins with a remedial investigation (RI) to determine the nature and extent of contamination and then a risk assessment (RA) to establish whether the contamination at the site poses unacceptable risks to humans and the environment. Next, a feasibility study (FS) or an engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA) evaluates various remedial alternatives. It is at this point in the process when NW Natural is able to estimate a range of remediation costs and record a reasonable potential remediation liability, or make an adjustment to the existing liability. From this study, the regulatory agency selects a remedy and issues a Record of Decision (ROD). After a ROD is issued, NW Natural would seek to negotiate a consent decree or consent judgment for designing and implementing the remedy. NW Natural would have the ability to further refine estimates of remediation liabilities at that time.

Remediation may include treatment of contaminated media such as sediment, soil and groundwater, removal and disposal of media, institutional controls such as legal restrictions on future property use, or natural recovery. Following construction of the remedy, the EPA and ODEQ also have requirements for ongoing maintenance, monitoring and other post-remediation care that may continue for many years. Where appropriate and reasonably known, NW Natural will provide for these costs in the remediation liabilities described below.

Due to the numerous uncertainties surrounding the course of environmental remediation and the preliminary nature of several site investigations, in some cases, NW Natural may not be able to reasonably estimate the high end of the range of possible loss. In those cases, the nature of the possible loss has been disclosed, as has the fact that the high end of the range cannot be reasonably estimated where a range of potential loss is available. Unless there is an estimate within the range of possible losses that is more likely than other cost estimates within that range, NW Natural records the liability at the low end of this range. It is likely changes in these estimates and ranges will occur throughout the remediation process for each of these sites due to the continued evaluation and clarification concerning responsibility, the complexity of environmental laws and regulations and the determination by regulators of remediation alternatives. In addition to remediation costs, NW Natural could also be subject to Natural Resource Damages (NRD) claims. NW Natural will assess the likelihood and probability of each claim and recognize a liability if deemed appropriate. Refer to "Other Portland Harbor" below.

Environmental Sites

The following table summarizes information regarding liabilities related to environmental sites, which are recorded in other current liabilities and other noncurrent liabilities in NW Natural's balance sheet:


	Current Liabilities						Non-Current Liabilities
	March 31,				December 31,		March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022		2023		2022		2022
Portland Harbor site:
Gasco/Siltronic Sediments	$	8,588	$	6,086	$	9,744	$	42,766	$	41,408	$	42,120
Other Portland Harbor	2,868		2,198		2,634		10,707		9,092		11,270
Gasco/Siltronic Upland site	13,275		13,203		16,067		34,519		35,283		35,457

Front Street site	456		799		457		939		868		879
Oregon Steel Mills	—		—		—		179		179		179
Total	$	25,187	$	22,286	$	28,902	$	89,110	$	86,830	$	89,905

Portland Harbor Site

The Portland Harbor is an EPA listed Superfund site that is approximately 10 miles long on the Willamette River and is adjacent to NW Natural's Gasco uplands site. NW Natural is one of over one hundred PRPs, each jointly and severally liable, at the Superfund site. In January 2017, the EPA issued its Record of Decision, which selects the remedy for the clean-up of the Portland Harbor site (Portland Harbor ROD). The Portland Harbor ROD estimates the present value total cost at approximately $1.05 billion with an accuracy between -30% and +50% of actual costs.

NW Natural's potential liability is a portion of the costs of the remedy for the entire Portland Harbor Superfund site. The cost of that remedy is expected to be allocated among more than one hundred PRPs. NW Natural is participating in a non-binding allocation process with other PRPs in an effort to resolve its potential liability. The Portland Harbor ROD does not provide any additional clarification around allocation of costs among PRPs; accordingly, NW Natural has not modified any of the recorded liabilities at this time as a result of the issuance of the Portland Harbor ROD.

NW Natural manages its liability related to the Superfund site as two distinct remediation projects: the Gasco Sediments Site and Other Portland Harbor projects.

GASCO SEDIMENTS. In 2009, NW Natural and Siltronic Corporation entered into a separate Administrative Order on Consent with the EPA to evaluate and design specific remedies for sediments adjacent to the Gasco uplands and Siltronic uplands sites. NW Natural submitted a draft EE/CA to the EPA in May 2012 and the EE/CA estimated the cost of potential remedial alternatives for this site. In March 2020, NW Natural and the EPA amended the Administrative Order on Consent to include additional remedial design activities downstream of the Gasco sediments site and in the navigation channel. Siltronic Corporation is not a party to the amended order. In the second quarter of 2021, NW Natural began preliminary design discussions with the EPA for the Gasco sediments site. These preliminary design discussions did not include a cost estimate for cleanup. No design alternatives are more likely than the EE/CA alternatives at this time, and NW Natural expects further design discussion and iteration with the EPA.

The estimated costs for the various sediment remedy alternatives in the draft EE/CA, for the additional studies and design work needed before the cleanup can occur, and for regulatory oversight throughout the cleanup range from $51.4 million to $350 million. NW Natural has recorded a liability of $51.4 million for the Gasco sediment clean-up, which reflects the low end of the range. At this time, we believe sediments at the Gasco sediments site represent the largest portion of NW Natural's liability related to the Portland Harbor site discussed above.

OTHER PORTLAND HARBOR. While we believe liabilities associated with the Gasco sediments site represent NW Natural's largest exposure, there are other potential exposures associated with the Portland Harbor ROD, including NRD costs and harborwide remedial design and cleanup costs (including downstream petroleum contamination), for which allocations among the PRPs have not yet been determined.

NW Natural and other parties have signed a cooperative agreement with the Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee council to participate in a phased NRD assessment to estimate liabilities to support an early restoration-based settlement of NRD claims. One member of this Trustee council, the Yakama Nation, withdrew from the council in 2009, and in 2017, filed suit against NW Natural and 29 other parties seeking remedial costs and NRD assessment costs associated with the Portland Harbor site, set forth in the complaint. The complaint seeks recovery of alleged costs totaling $0.3 million in connection with the selection of a remedial action for the Portland Harbor site as well as declaratory judgment for unspecified future remedial action costs and for costs to assess the injury, loss or destruction of natural resources resulting from the release of hazardous substances at and from the Portland Harbor site. The Yakama Nation has filed two amended complaints addressing certain pleading defects and dismissing the State of Oregon. On the motion of NW Natural and certain other defendants, the federal court has stayed the case pending the outcome of the non-binding allocation proceeding discussed above. NW Natural has recorded a liability for NRD

claims which is at the low end of the range of the potential liability; the high end of the range cannot be reasonably estimated at this time. The NRD liability is not included in the aforementioned range of costs provided in the Portland Harbor ROD.

Gasco Uplands Site

A predecessor of NW Natural, Portland Gas and Coke Company, owned a former gas manufacturing plant that was closed in 1958 (Gasco site) and is adjacent to the Portland Harbor site described above. The Gasco site has been under investigation by NW Natural for environmental contamination under the ODEQ Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). It is not included in the range of remedial costs for the Portland Harbor site noted above. The Gasco site is managed in two parts, the uplands portion and the groundwater source control action.

NW Natural submitted a revised Remedial Investigation Report for the uplands to ODEQ in May 2007. In March 2015, ODEQ approved the Risk Assessment (RA) for this site, enabling commencement of work on the FS in 2016. NW Natural has recognized a liability for the remediation of the uplands portion of the site which is at the low end of the range of potential liability; the high end of the range cannot be reasonably estimated at this time.

In October 2016, ODEQ and NW Natural agreed to amend their VCP agreement for the Gasco uplands to incorporate a portion of the Siltronic property formerly owned by Portland Gas & Coke between 1939 and 1960 into the Gasco RA and FS. Previously, NW Natural was conducting an investigation of manufactured gas plant constituents on the entire Siltronic uplands for ODEQ. Siltronic will be working with ODEQ directly on environmental impacts to the remainder of its property.

In September 2013, NW Natural completed construction of a groundwater source control system, including a water treatment station, at the Gasco site. NW Natural has estimated the cost associated with the ongoing operation of the system and has recognized a liability which is at the low end of the range of potential cost. NW Natural cannot estimate the high end of the range at this time due to the uncertainty associated with the duration of running the water treatment station, which is highly dependent on the remedy determined for both the upland portion as well as the final remedy for the Gasco sediments site.

Other Sites

In addition to those sites above, NW Natural has environmental exposures at three other sites: Central Service Center, Front Street and Oregon Steel Mills. NW Natural may have exposure at other sites that have not been identified at this time. Due to the uncertainty of the design of remediation, regulation, timing of the remediation and in the case of the Oregon Steel Mills site, pending litigation, liabilities for each of these sites have been recognized at their respective low end of the range of potential liability; the high end of the range could not be reasonably estimated at this time.

FRONT STREET SITE. The Front Street site was the former location of a gas manufacturing plant NW Natural operated (the former Portland Gas Manufacturing site, or PGM). At ODEQ’s request, NW Natural conducted a sediment and source control investigation and provided findings to ODEQ. In December 2015, an FS on the former Portland Gas Manufacturing site was completed.

In July 2017, ODEQ issued the PGM ROD. The ROD specifies the selected remedy, which requires a combination of dredging, capping, treatment, and natural recovery. In addition, the selected remedy also requires institutional controls and long-term inspection and maintenance. Construction of the remedy began in July 2020 and was completed in October 2020. The second year of post-construction monitoring was completed in 2022 and demonstrated that the cap was intact and performing as designed. NW Natural has recognized an additional liability of $1.4 million costs associated with the discovery during construction of World War II-era munitions, design costs, regulatory and permitting issues, and post-construction work.

OREGON STEEL MILLS SITE. Refer to "Legal Proceedings" below.

Environmental Cost Deferral and Recovery

NW Natural has authorizations in Oregon and Washington to defer costs related to remediation of properties that are owned or were previously owned by NW Natural. In Oregon, a Site Remediation and Recovery Mechanism (SRRM) is currently in place to recover prudently incurred costs allocable to Oregon customers, subject to an earnings test. On October 21, 2019, the WUTC authorized an Environmental Cost Recovery Mechanism (ECRM) for recovery of prudently incurred costs allocable to Washington customers beginning November 1, 2019. See Note 17 in the 2022 Form 10-K for a description of SRRM and ECRM collection processes.

The following table presents information regarding the total regulatory asset deferred:


	March 31,				December 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		2022
Deferred costs and interest (1)	$	47,651	$	45,482	$	47,666
Accrued site liabilities (2)	114,253		109,061		118,763
Insurance proceeds and interest	(55,416)		(59,895)		(54,784)
Total regulatory asset deferral(1)	$	106,488	$	94,648	$	111,645
Current regulatory assets(3)	6,947		7,082		7,392
Long-term regulatory assets(3)	99,541		87,566		104,253

(1) Includes pre-review and post-review deferred costs, amounts currently in amortization, and interest, net of amounts collected from customers.

(2) Excludes 3.3% of the Front Street site liability as the OPUC only allows recovery of 96.7% of costs for those sites allocable to Oregon, including those that historically served only Oregon customers. Amounts excluded from regulatory assets were $45 thousand at March 31, 2023, $54 thousand at March 31, 2022, and $43 thousand at December 31, 2022.

(3) Environmental costs relate to specific sites approved for regulatory deferral by the OPUC and WUTC. In Oregon, NW Natural earns a carrying charge on cash amounts paid, whereas amounts accrued but not yet paid do not earn a carrying charge until expended. It also accrues a carrying charge on insurance proceeds for amounts owed to customers. In Washington, neither the cash paid for insurance proceeds received accrue a carrying charge. Current environmental costs represent remediation costs management expects to collect from customers in the next 12 months. Amounts included in this estimate are still subject to a prudence and earnings test review by the OPUC and do not include the $5.0 million tariff rider. The amounts allocable to Oregon are recoverable through NGD rates, subject to an earnings test.

Environmental Earnings Test

To the extent NW Natural earns at or below its authorized Return on Equity (ROE) as defined by the SRRM, remediation expenses and interest in excess of the $5.0 million tariff rider and $5.0 million insurance proceeds are recoverable through the SRRM. To the extent NW Natural earns more than its authorized ROE in a year, it is required to cover environmental expenses and interest on expenses greater than the $10.0 million with those earnings that exceed its authorized ROE.

Legal Proceedings

NW Holdings is not currently party to any direct claims or litigation, though in the future it may be subject to claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business.

NW Natural is subject to claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business including the matters discussed above. Although the final outcome of any of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, including the matter relating to the Oregon Steel Mills site referenced below, NW Natural and NW Holdings do not expect that the ultimate disposition of any of these matters will have a material effect on their financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. See also Part II, Item 1, “Legal Proceedings".

Oregon Steel Mills Site

See Note 17 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

For additional information regarding other commitments and contingencies, see Note 16 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following is management’s assessment of NW Holdings' and NW Natural's financial condition, including the principal factors that affect results of operations. The discussion refers to the consolidated results for the three months ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 of NW Holdings, the substantial majority of which consist of the operating results of NW Natural. When significant activity exists at NW Holdings that does not exist at NW Natural, additional disclosure has been provided. References in this discussion to "Notes" are to the Notes to Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements in this report. A significant portion of the business results are seasonal in nature, and, as such, the results of operations for the three month period is not necessarily indicative of expected fiscal year results. Therefore, this discussion should be read in conjunction with NW Holdings' and NW Natural's 2022 Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable (2022 Form 10-K).

NW Natural's natural gas distribution activities are reported in the natural gas distribution (NGD) segment. The NGD segment also includes NWN Gas Reserves, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Corp, the NGD-portion of NW Natural's Mist storage facility in Oregon, and NW Natural RNG Holding Company, LLC. NW Natural RNG Holding Company, LLC holds an investment in Lexington Renewable Energy, LLC, which is accounted for under the equity method. Other activities aggregated and reported as other at NW Natural include the non-NGD storage activity at Mist as well as asset management services and the appliance retail center operations. Other activities aggregated and reported as other at NW Holdings include NNG Financial's investment in Kelso-Beaver Pipeline (KB Pipeline) and NWN Water's investment in Avion Water Company, Inc., which are accounted for under the equity method, NW Natural Renewables Holdings, LLC and its non-regulated renewable natural gas activities; and NWN Water, which through itself or its subsidiaries, owns and continues to pursue investments in the water and wastewater sector. See Note 4 for further discussion of our business segment and other, as well as our direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries.

NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES. In addition to presenting the results of operations and earnings amounts in total, certain financial measures are expressed in cents per share, which are non-GAAP financial measures. All references in this section to earnings per share (EPS) are on the basis of diluted shares. We use such non-GAAP financial measures to analyze our financial performance because we believe they provide useful information to our investors, analysts and creditors in evaluating our financial condition and results of operations. Our non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, measures calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Moreover, these non-GAAP financial measures have limitations in that they do not reflect all the items associated with the operations of the business as determined in accordance with GAAP. Other companies may calculate similarly titled non-GAAP financial measures differently than how such measures are calculated in this report, limiting the usefulness of those measures for comparative purposes. A reconciliation of each non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is provided below.


	Three Months Ended March 31,
		2023		2022
Diluted earnings per share - Total(1)		$	2.01	$	1.80
Diluted earnings per share - NGD segment(2)		2.02		1.77
Diluted earnings (loss) per share - NW Holdings - other(2)		(0.01)		0.03

(1) Total Diluted EPS is equal to the sum of Diluted EPS - NGD segment and Diluted EPS - NW Holdings – other.

(2) Non-GAAP financial measure

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

NW Holdings' financial results and highlights include:

•Reported net income of $71.7 million or $2.01 per share (diluted) for the first three months of 2023, compared to net income of $56.2 million or $1.80 per share (diluted) in the prior year;

•Added nearly 8,100 meters during the past twelve months for a growth rate of 1.0% at March 31, 2023;

•Invested more than $71 million in our utility systems in the first three months of 2023 in an effort to achieve greater reliability and resiliency; and

•Honored as one of the 2023 World's Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere(1) for the second year in a row.

Key year-to-date financial highlights for NW Holdings include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2023				2022				YTD
In thousands, except per share data	Amount		Per Share		Amount		Per Share		Change


Consolidated net income	$	71,671	$	2.01	$	56,239	$	1.80	$	15,432

Key year-to-date financial highlights for NW Natural include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,
	2023		2022		YTD
In thousands	Amount		Amount		Change
Consolidated net income	$	75,540	$	57,416	$	18,124
Natural gas distribution margin	$	217,615	$	177,732	$	39,883

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022.

Consolidated net income increased $18.1 million at NW Natural primarily due to the following factors:

•$39.9 million increase in NGD segment margin driven by new rates in Oregon and Washington, amortization of deferred balances (which is mostly offset in operations and maintenance expenses and interest expense) and customer growth; and

•$3.4 million increase in other income, net primarily due to lower pension costs and interest income; partially offset by

•$11.5 million increase in operations and maintenance expenses due to the amortization of deferred balances, higher compensation costs, higher contract labor, information technology costs, and amortization expense related to cloud computing arrangements;

•$7.1 million increase in income tax expense due to higher pre-tax income;

•$3.8 million increase in interest expense, net due to higher long-term debt balances;

•$2.5 million increase in depreciation expense due to additional capital investments; and

•$2.0 million increase in general taxes primarily driven by higher property taxes.

Consolidated net income increased $15.4 million at NW Holdings primarily due to the following factors:

•$18.1 million increase in consolidated net income at NW Natural as discussed above; partially offset by

•$2.7 million decrease in other net income primarily reflecting higher interest expense at the holding company and costs associated with non-regulated renewable natural gas activities.

CURRENT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. We are evaluating and monitoring current economic conditions, which include but are not limited to: inflation, rising interest rates and commodity costs, recessionary pressures, banking environment and risk of further bank failure, heightened cybersecurity awareness, geopolitical uncertainty, and supply chain disruptions. We have enhanced cybersecurity monitoring in response to reports that cybersecurity attacks have increased and may continue to increase. We have experienced some longer lead times on materials, including valves and meter parts, however through advanced planning we are carrying additional levels of inventory to support our operations. Our suppliers may be subject to lack of personnel or disruption in their own supply chain for materials, which could disrupt supplier performance or deliveries, and negatively impact our business. Developers and HVAC suppliers have reported longer lead times for furnaces and other HVAC equipment, which may affect the timing of placing new meters into service particularly those converting to natural gas. However, because any supply chain issues are being experienced by vendors who supply directly to customers and not us, we do not have visibility of and are not able to quantify the number of new meters affected at this time. We are continuing to actively monitor supply chain disruptions, and have formulated and continue to evaluate contingency plans as necessary.

(1) “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and “Ethisphere” names and marks are registered trademarks of Ethisphere LLC

NW Holdings and NW Natural continue to monitor interest rates and financing options for all of its businesses. Interest rates increased in 2022 resulting from actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve to increase short-term rates as inflation remains elevated. NW Natural generally recovers interest expense on its long-term debt through its authorized cost of capital. Certain working capital items, such as the cost of gas, are deferred and accrue interest in Oregon and Washington. Additionally, short-term debt is incorporated in the capital structure in Washington. NW Natural Water's regulated water and wastewater utilities recover interest expense from long-term debt through their respective authorized cost of capital.

The recent mid-sized regional bank failures in March have created uncertainty in the banking markets, causing many investors to look for alternative investment options. While this has had widespread impacts on the economy, neither NW Holdings nor NW Natural were directly impacted. We currently have a diverse group of eight banks that participate in our revolving credit facilities. We additionally have two banks that provide deposit services. All of our current banking counterparties currently have solid investment grade credit ratings. We will continue to monitor this situation and its impact on our business.

See the discussion in "Results of Operations", "Regulatory Matters" and "Financial Condition" below for additional detail regarding all significant activity that occurred during the first quarter of 2023.

DIVIDENDS

Dividend highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
Per common share		2023		2022
Dividends paid		$	0.4850	$	0.4825		$	0.0025

In April 2023, the Board of Directors of NW Holdings declared a quarterly dividend on NW Holdings common stock of $0.4850 per share. The dividend is payable on May 15, 2023 to shareholders of record on April 28, 2023, reflecting an annual indicated dividend rate of $1.94 per share.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Business Segment - Natural Gas Distribution (NGD)

NGD margin results are primarily affected by customer growth, revenues from rate-base additions, and, to a certain extent, by changes in delivered volumes due to weather and customers’ gas usage patterns. In Oregon, NW Natural has a conservation tariff (also called the decoupling mechanism), which adjusts margin up or down each month through a deferred regulatory accounting adjustment designed to offset changes resulting from increases or decreases in average use by residential and commercial customers. NW Natural also has a weather normalization tariff in Oregon, WARM, which adjusts customer bills up or down to offset changes in margin resulting from above- or below-average temperatures during the winter heating season. Both mechanisms are designed to reduce, but not eliminate, the volatility of customer bills and natural gas distribution earnings. For additional information, see Part II, Item 7 "Results of Operations—Regulatory Matters—Rate Mechanisms" in NW Natural's 2022 Form 10-K. In addition to NW Natural's local gas distribution business, the NGD segment also includes the portion of the Mist underground storage facility used to serve NGD customers, the North Mist gas storage expansion, NWN Gas Reserves, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Corp., and NW Natural RNG Holding Company, LLC.

The NGD business is primarily seasonal in nature due to higher gas usage by residential and commercial customers during the cold winter heating months. Other categories of customers experience seasonality in their usage but to a lesser extent. Seasonality affects the comparability of the results of operations of the NGD business across quarters but not across years.

NGD segment highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands, except EPS data		2023		2022
NGD net income		$	71,951	$	55,390		$	16,561
Diluted EPS - NGD segment		$	2.02	$	1.77		$	0.25
Gas sold and delivered (in therms)		463,049		428,386			34,663
NGD margin(1)		$	217,615	$	177,732		$	39,883

(1) See Natural Gas Distribution Margin Table below for additional detail.

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. The primary factors contributing to the $16.6 million increase in NGD net income were as follows:

•$39.9 million increase in NGD margin due to:

•$26.5 million increase due to new customer rates in Oregon and Washington that went into effect on November 1, 2022;

•$5.9 million increase due to higher usage from colder comparative weather from customers that are not decoupled, and a gain from the Oregon gas cost incentive sharing mechanism;

•$5.2 million increase due to the amortization of deferred balances primarily related to COVID-19, cybersecurity, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) upgrades (which is mostly offset in operations and maintenance expenses and interest expense); and

•$2.7 million increase driven by customer growth; and

•$3.3 million increase in other income, net driven by lower pension costs and interest income from invested cash and the equity portion of Allowance for Funds Used During Construction (AFUDC); partially offset by

•$11.9 million increase in operations and maintenance expenses due to the amortization of deferred balances, higher compensation costs, higher contract labor, information technology costs, and amortization expense related to cloud computing arrangements;

•$6.5 million increase in income tax expense due to higher pre-tax income;

•$3.8 million increase in interest expense, net primarily due to higher long-term debt balances; and

•$2.5 million increase in depreciation expense due to additional capital investments in the distribution system, including several significant information technology projects that were placed into service in September 2022.

For the three months ended March 31, 2023, total NGD volumes sold and delivered increased 8% over the same period in 2022 primarily due to 5% colder than average weather in the first three months of 2023 compared to 8% warmer than average weather in the prior period.

NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION MARGIN TABLE. The following table summarizes the composition of NGD gas volumes, revenues, and cost of sales:


	Three Months Ended March 31,							Favorable/ (Unfavorable)
In thousands, except degree day and customer data		2023			2022				YTD Change
NGD volumes (therms)
Residential and commercial sales		330,665			293,927				36,738
Industrial sales and transportation		132,384			134,459				(2,075)
Total NGD volumes sold and delivered		463,049			428,386				34,663
Operating Revenues
Residential and commercial sales		$	412,307		$	314,607			$	97,700
Industrial sales and transportation		29,144			21,273				7,871
Other distribution revenues		1,610			607				1,003
Other regulated services		4,709			4,911				(202)
Total operating revenues		447,770			341,398				106,372
Less: Cost of gas		205,805			145,644				(60,161)
Less: Environmental remediation expense		5,375			4,698				(677)
Less: Revenue taxes		18,975			13,324				(5,651)
NGD margin		$	217,615		$	177,732			$	39,883

Margin(1)
Residential and commercial sales		$	199,246		$	163,128			$	36,118
Industrial sales and transportation		9,746			8,926				820

Gain from gas cost incentive sharing		2,343			70				2,273
Other margin		1,571			698				873
Other regulated services		4,709			4,910				(201)
NGD Margin		$	217,615		$	177,732			$	39,883

Degree days(2)
Average(3)		1,323			1,326				(3)
Actual		1,385			1,217				14		%
Percent colder (warmer) than average weather		5		%	(8)		%


	As of March 31,
	2023	2022	Change	Growth
NGD Meters - end of period:
Residential meters	726,479	718,820	7,659	1.1%
Commercial meters	69,301	68,878	423	0.6%
Industrial meters	1,068	1,074	(6)	(0.6)%
Total number of meters	796,848	788,772	8,076	1.0%

(1) Amounts reported as NGD margin for each category of meters are operating revenues less cost of gas, environmental remediation expense and revenue taxes, subject to earnings test considerations, as applicable.

(2) Heating degree days are units of measure reflecting temperature-sensitive consumption of natural gas, calculated by subtracting the average of a day's high and low temperatures from 59 degrees Fahrenheit.

(3) Average weather represents the 25-year average of heating degree days. Beginning November 1, 2022, average weather is calculated over

the period June 1, 1996 through May 31, 2021, as determined in NW Natural's 2022 Oregon general rate case. From November 1, 2020

through October 31, 2022, average weather was calculated over the period June 1, 1994 through May 31, 2019, as determined in NW

Natural’s 2020 Oregon general rate case.

Residential and Commercial Sales

Residential and commercial sales highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands		2023		2022
Volumes (therms)
Residential sales		209,818		186,329			23,489
Commercial sales		120,847		107,598			13,249
Total volumes		330,665		293,927			36,738
Operating revenues
Residential sales		$	273,473	$	217,183		$	56,290
Commercial sales		138,834		97,424			41,410
Total operating revenues		$	412,307	$	314,607		$	97,700
NGD margin






Residential NGD margin		$	144,322	$	119,832		$	24,490






Commercial NGD margin		54,924		43,296			11,628
Total NGD margin		$	199,246	$	163,128		$	36,118

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Residential and commercial margin increased $36.1 million compared to the prior period. The increase was primarily driven by new customer rates in Oregon and Washington that took effect on November 1, 2022 and 1.1% growth in residential customer meters. Volumes increased 36.7 million therms due to higher usage driven by comparatively colder weather.

Industrial Sales and Transportation

Industrial sales and transportation highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands		2023		2022
Volumes (therms)
Firm and interruptible sales		30,638		28,860			1,778
Firm and interruptible transportation		101,746		105,599			(3,853)


Total volumes - sales and transportation		132,384		134,459			(2,075)
NGD margin
Firm and interruptible sales		$	4,103	$	3,699		$	404
Firm and interruptible transportation		5,643		5,227			416
Total margin - sales and transportation		$	9,746	$	8,926		$	820

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Industrial sales and transportation margin increased $0.8 million compared to the prior period primarily driven by new rates in Oregon and Washington that took effect on November 1, 2022, partially offset by lower transportation volumes. Volumes decreased 2.1 million therms primarily due to lower usage from multiple customers, most notably in the chemical manufacturing, primary metals, and food processing industries, partially offset by higher usage from customers in the pulp and paper industry.

Cost of Gas

Cost of gas highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands		2023		2022
Cost of gas		$	205,805	$	145,644		$	60,161
Volumes sold (therms)(1)		361,303		322,787			38,516
Average cost of gas (cents per therm)		$	0.57	$	0.45		$	0.12
Gain from gas cost incentive sharing(2)		$	2,343	$	70		$	2,273

(1)This calculation excludes volumes delivered to industrial transportation customers.

(2) For additional information regarding NW Natural's gas cost incentive sharing mechanism, see Part II, Item 7 "Results of Operations—Regulatory Matters—Rate Mechanisms—Gas Reserves" in NW Natural's 2022 Form 10-K.

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Cost of gas increased $60.2 million primarily due to a 27% increase in average cost of gas and a 12% increase in volumes sold. The majority of these higher gas costs embedded in the PGA. Volumes sold increased 38.5 million therms driven by customer growth and comparatively colder weather.

Other Regulated Services Margin

Other regulated services margin highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands		2023		2022
North Mist storage services		$	4,662	$	4,858		$	(196)
Other services		47		52			(5)
Total other regulated services		$	4,709	$	4,910		$	(201)

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Other regulated services margin decreased $0.2 million compared to the prior period. The decrease is due to lower depreciation rates for the North Mist facility beginning November 1, 2022.

Other

Other activities aggregated and reported as other at NW Holdings include NNG Financial's investment in Kelso-Beaver Pipeline (KB Pipeline); NW Natural Renewables Holdings, LLC and its non-regulated renewable natural gas activities; NWN Water, which owns and continues to pursue investments in the water and wastewater sector; and NWN Water's investment in Avion Water Company, Inc. (Avion Water). Other activities aggregated and reported as other at NW Natural include the non-NGD storage activity at Mist as well as asset management services and the appliance retail center operations. See Note 4 for further discussion of our business segment and other, as well as our direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. See Note 13 for information on our Avion Water investment.

The following table presents the results of activities aggregated and reported as other for both NW Holdings and NW Natural:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD Change
In thousands, except EPS data		2023		2022
NW Natural other - net income		$	3,589	$	2,026		$	1,563
Other NW Holdings activity		(3,869)		(1,177)			(2,692)
NW Holdings other - net income (loss)		$	(280)	$	849		$	(1,129)
Diluted earnings (loss) per share - NW Holdings - other		$	(0.01)	$	0.03		$	(0.04)

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Other net income (loss) increased $1.6 million at NW Natural and decreased $1.1 million at NW Holdings. The increase at NW Natural was primarily due to higher asset management revenue from favorable market conditions in the current year. The decrease at NW Holdings was driven by higher interest expense at the holding company and costs associated with non-regulated renewable natural gas activities.

Consolidated Operations

Operations and Maintenance

Operations and maintenance highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD
In thousands		2023		2022			Change
NW Natural		$	65,389	$	53,877		$	11,512
Other NW Holdings operations and maintenance		6,428		3,608			2,820
NW Holdings		$	71,817	$	57,485		$	14,332

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Operations and maintenance expense increased $11.5 million at NW Natural primarily due to the following:

•$3.6 million increase due to the amortization of deferred balances primarily related to COVID-19, cybersecurity, and information technology system upgrades;

•$1.9 million increase related to higher compensation costs;

•$1.6 million increase in contract labor for safety and reliability and contracted support for information technology system upgrades;

•$1.5 million increase in information technology maintenance and support; and

•$1.3 million increase in amortization expense related to cloud computing arrangements.

Operations and maintenance expense increased $14.3 million at NW Holdings primarily due to the following:

•$11.5 million increase in operations and maintenance expense at NW Natural as discussed above; and

•$2.8 million increase in other NW Holdings operations and maintenance expense primarily due to costs associated with recently acquired water and wastewater subsidiaries and non-regulated renewable natural gas activities.

Depreciation

Depreciation highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD
In thousands		2023		2022			Change
NW Natural		$	30,144	$	27,637		$	2,507
Other NW Holdings depreciation		1,321		792			529
NW Holdings		$	31,465	$	28,429		$	3,036

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Depreciation expense increased $2.5 million at NW Natural primarily due to additional capital investments in the distribution system and Mist storage, as well as renovation and construction of resource and operations service centers. In addition, NW Natural placed several significant information technology projects into service in September 2022.

Depreciation expense increased $3.0 million at NW Holdings, primarily due to a $0.5 million increase in other NW Holdings depreciation related to water and wastewater subsidiaries and a $2.5 million increase at NW Natural as discussed above.

Other Income (Expense), Net

Other income (expense), net highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD
In thousands		2023		2022			Change
NW Natural other income (expense), net		$	2,445	$	(981)		$	3,426
Other NW Holdings activity		(839)		27			(866)
NW Holdings other income (expense), net		$	1,606	$	(954)		$	2,560

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Other income, net increased $3.4 million at NW Natural primarily due to lower pension non-service costs and interest income from invested cash and the equity portion of AFUDC. Costs related to our defined benefit pension plan for the first quarter of 2023 decreased compared to the prior year due to a decrease in amortization of actuarial losses. Our 2023 pension expense does not include any amortization of losses as the unrecognized losses are within a calculated corridor.

Other income, net increased $2.6 million at NW Holdings driven by the change at NW Natural discussed above, partially offset by contributions to fund community outreach initiatives at NW Holdings. Other income (expense), net primarily consists of regulatory interest, pension and other postretirement non-service costs, gains from company-owned life insurance, and donations.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense, net highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD
In thousands		2023		2022			Change
NW Natural		$	14,611	$	10,831		$	3,780
Other NW Holdings interest expense, net		3,685		691			2,994
NW Holdings		$	18,296	$	11,522		$	6,774

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Interest expense, net increased $3.8 million at NW Natural due to higher interest expense on a higher level of long-term debt.

Interest expense, net increased $6.8 million at NW Holdings primarily due to the increase at NW Natural discussed above and higher interest expense on a higher level of long-term debt at NW Holdings and NWN Water.

Income Tax Expense

Income tax expense highlights include:


	Three Months Ended March 31,					YTD
In thousands		2023		2022			Change
NW Natural income tax expense		$	26,422	$	19,323		$	7,099
NW Holdings income tax expense		$	25,147	$	18,923		$	6,224

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Income tax expense increased $7.1 million at NW Natural and $6.2 million at NW Holdings. The increase in income tax expense is primarily due to higher pre-tax income in the current period compared to the prior year.

Regulatory Matters

For additional information, see Part II, Item 7 "Results of Operations—Regulatory Matters" in the 2022 Form 10-K.

Regulation and Rates

NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION. NW Natural's natural gas distribution business is subject to regulation by the OPUC and WUTC with respect to, among other matters, rates and terms of service, systems of accounts, and issuances of securities by NW Natural. At March 31, 2023, approximately 88% of NGD customers were located in Oregon, with the remaining 12% in Washington. Earnings and cash flows from natural gas distribution operations are largely determined by rates set in general rate cases and other proceedings in Oregon and Washington. They are also affected by weather, the local economies in Oregon and Washington, the pace of customer growth in the residential, commercial, and industrial markets, legislation and policy, customer preferences and NW Natural's ability to remain price competitive, control expenses, and obtain reasonable and timely regulatory recovery of its natural gas distribution-related costs, including operating expenses and investment costs in plant and other regulatory assets. See "Most Recent Completed Rate Cases" below.

MIST INTERSTATE GAS STORAGE. NW Natural's interstate storage activity at Mist is subject to regulation by the OPUC, WUTC, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with respect to, among other matters, rates and terms of service. The OPUC also regulates the intrastate storage services at Mist, while FERC regulates the interstate storage services at Mist. The FERC uses a maximum cost of service model which allows for gas storage prices to be set at or below the cost of service as approved by each agency in their last regulatory filing. The OPUC Schedule 80 rates are tied to the FERC rates, and are updated whenever NW Natural modifies FERC maximum rates.

OTHER. The wholly-owned regulated water businesses of NWN Water, a wholly-owned subsidiary of NW Holdings, are subject to regulation by the utility commissions in the states in which they are located, which currently includes Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Idaho, and Texas. The wholly-owned regulated wastewater businesses of NWN Water are subject to regulation by the utility commissions in the states in which they are located, which currently includes Texas and Arizona.

Most Recent Completed Rate Cases

OREGON. On October 24, 2022, the OPUC issued an order for rates effective November 1, 2022, which authorized a return on equity of 9.4%, a cost of capital of 6.836%, and a capital structure of 50% common equity and 50% long-term debt. After adjustments provided in the order, the order increased the revenue requirement by $59.4 million, and included a rate base of $1.76 billion, or an increase of $320 million since the last rate case. The OPUC also ordered an adjustment to NW Natural’s current line extension allowance methodology to a five times margin approach (which for an average residential customer is currently approximately $2,300), declining to four times margin on November 1, 2023, and three times margin on November 1, 2024. The OPUC further ordered that the costs NW Natural sought to recover related to its Lexington RNG project were reasonable and prudently incurred under Senate Bill 98 and adopted an automatic adjustment clause that allows for NW Natural’s RNG project costs to be added to rates annually on November 1st.

From November 1, 2020 through October 31, 2022, the OPUC authorized rates to customers based on an ROE of 9.4% and a cost of capital of 6.965% with a capital structure of 50% common equity and 50% long-term debt. The OPUC also authorized NW Natural to recover the expense associated with the Oregon Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) as a component of base rates. See "Corporate Activity Tax" in the 2021 Form 10-K. In addition, the OPUC approved the application of NW Natural’s decoupling calculation for the months of November and May to the month of April. The decoupling mechanism is intended to encourage customers to conserve energy without adversely affecting revenue due to reductions in sales volumes.

WASHINGTON. On October 21, 2021, the WUTC issued an order concluding NW Natural's general rate case filed in December 2020 (WUTC Order). The WUTC Order provides for an annual revenue requirement increase over two years, consisting of a 6.4% or $5.0 million increase in the first year beginning November 1, 2021 (Year One), and a 3.5% or $3.0 million increase in the second year beginning November 1, 2022 (Year Two). The increase is based on the following assumptions:

•Cost of capital of 6.814%; and

•Average rate base of $194.7 million, an increase of $20.9 million since the last rate case for capital expenditures already expended at the time of filing, with an additional expected $31.2 million increase in Year One, and an additional expected $21.4 million increase in Year Two, with the increases in Year One and Year Two relating to expected capital expenditures in those years.

The WUTC Order does not specify the underlying inputs to the cost of capital, including capital structure and return on equity. New rates authorized by the WUTC Order were effective November 1, 2021. The WUTC also authorized the recovery of environmental remediation expenses allocable to Washington customers through an Environmental Cost Recovery Mechanism (ECRM) and directed NW Natural to provide federal tax reform benefits to customers. See "Rate Mechanisms - Environmental Cost Deferral and Recovery - Washington ECRM" below.

FERC. NW Natural is required under its Mist interstate storage certificate authority and rate approval orders to file every five years either a petition for rate approval or a cost and revenue study to change or justify maintaining the existing rates for its interstate storage services. On October 12, 2018, NW Natural filed a rate petition with FERC for revised cost-based maximum rates, which incorporated the new federal corporate income tax rate. The revised rates were effective beginning November 1, 2018.

NW Natural continuously evaluates the need for rate cases in its jurisdictions.

Rate Mechanisms

During 2023 and 2022, NW Natural's key approved rates and recovery mechanisms for each service area included:

Oregon

Washington

2022 Rate Case (effective 11/1/2022)

2020 Rate Case (effective 11/1/2020)

2021 Rate Case

(effective 11/1/2021)

Authorized Rate Structure:

Return on Equity

9.4%

Rate of Return

6.8%

7.0%

6.8%

Debt/Equity Ratio

50%/50%

Key Regulatory Mechanisms:

Purchased Gas Adjustment (PGA)

Gas Cost Incentive Sharing

Decoupling

Weather Normalization (WARM)

RNG Automatic Adjustment Clause

Environmental Cost Recovery

Interstate Storage and Asset Management Sharing

** The WUTC Order does not specify the underlying inputs to the cost of capital, including capital structure and return on equity.

PURCHASED GAS ADJUSTMENT. Rate changes are established for NW Natural each year under PGA mechanisms in Oregon and Washington to reflect changes in the expected cost of natural gas commodity purchases. The PGA filings include gas costs under spot purchases as well as contract supplies, gas cost hedges, gas costs from the withdrawal of storage inventories, the production of gas reserves, interstate pipeline demand costs, renewable natural gas and its attributes, including renewable thermal certificates, temporary rate adjustments, which amortize balances of deferred regulatory accounts, and the removal of temporary rate adjustments effective for the previous year.

Each year, NW Natural hedges gas prices on a portion of NW Natural's annual sales requirement based on normal weather, including both physical and financial hedges. During 2022, there was increased price volatility in the spot and forward gas markets. In response to higher than normal volatility in forward gas markets in 2022, we hedged at higher levels for the 2022-23 gas year. NW Natural entered the 2022-23 gas year with forecasted sales volumes hedged at approximately 84% in total. The total hedged for Oregon was approximately 85%, including 67% in financial hedges and 18% in physical gas supplies. The total hedged for Washington was approximately 79%, including 66% in financial hedges and 13% in physical gas supplies.

As of March 31, 2023, NW Natural is hedged in total between 21% and 31% for annual requirements over the subsequent two gas years, which consists of between 23% and 30% in Oregon and between 0% and 45% in Washington. Hedge levels are subject to change based on actual load volumes, which depend to a certain extent on weather, economic conditions, and estimated gas reserve production. Also, gas storage inventory levels may increase or decrease with storage expansion, changes in storage contracts with third parties, variations in the heat content of the gas, and/or storage recall by NW Natural. As the Company planned for the 2022-23 gas year, gas price volatility remained high with current and forward gas prices increasing substantially in 2022. We will continue to monitor gas prices as we begin to fill storage and look at hedging plans for future gas years. Gas purchases and hedges entered into for the upcoming PGA year will be included in the Company’s PGA filings in Oregon and Washington.

In September 2022, NW Natural filed its annual PGAs and received OPUC and WUTC approval in October 2022. Included in the 2022-23 PGA, the OPUC and WUTC approved a new customer rate mitigation program to address higher gas costs, which includes a temporary bill credit for NW Natural’s residential customers from November 2022 to March 2023, with deferral of the temporary bill credit to be recovered in warmer months when customers typically see lower bills. As of March 31, 2023, the amount deferred to a regulatory asset related to the bill credit was approximately $19.9 million. PGA rate changes were effective November 1, 2022. Rates may vary between states due to different rate structures, rate mechanisms and hedging policies.

Under the current PGA mechanism in Oregon, there is an incentive sharing provision whereby NW Natural is required to select each year an 80% deferral or a 90% deferral of higher or lower actual gas costs compared to estimated PGA prices, such that the impact on NW Natural's current earnings from the incentive sharing is either 20% or 10% of the difference between actual and estimated gas costs, respectively. For the 2022-23 and 2021-22 gas years, NW Natural selected the 90% deferral option. Under the Washington PGA mechanism, NW Natural defers 100% of the higher or lower actual gas costs, and those gas cost differences are passed on to customers through the annual PGA rate adjustment.

EARNINGS TEST REVIEW. NW Natural is subject to an annual earnings review in Oregon to determine if the NGD business is earning above its authorized ROE threshold. If NGD business earnings exceed a specific ROE level, then 33% of the amount above that level is required to be deferred or refunded to customers. Under this provision, if NW Natural selects the 80% deferral gas cost option, then NW Natural retains all earnings up to 150 basis points above the currently authorized ROE. If NW Natural selects the 90% deferral option, then it retains all earnings up to 100 basis points above the currently authorized ROE. For the 2021-22 and 2022-23 gas years, NW Natural selected the 90% deferral option. The ROE threshold is subject to adjustment annually based on movements in long-term interest rates. For calendar year 2022, the ROE threshold was 10.40%. NW Natural filed the 2022 earnings test in April 2023, indicating no customer refund adjustment based on results.

GAS RESERVES. In 2011, the OPUC approved the Encana gas reserves transaction to provide long-term gas price protection for NGD business customers and determined costs under the agreement would be recovered on an ongoing basis through the annual PGA mechanism. Gas produced from NW Natural's interests is sold at then prevailing market prices, and revenues from such sales, net of associated operating and production costs and amortization, are included in cost of gas. The cost of gas, including a carrying cost for the rate base investment made under the original agreement, is included in NW Natural's annual Oregon PGA filing, which allows NW Natural to recover these costs through customer rates. The net investment under the original agreement earns a rate of return.

In 2014, NW Natural amended the original gas reserves agreement in response to Encana's sale of its interest in the Jonah field located in Wyoming to Jonah Energy. Under the amended agreement with Jonah Energy, NW Natural has the option to invest in additional wells on a well-by-well basis with drilling costs and resulting gas volumes shared at the amended proportionate working interest for each well in which NW Natural invests. Volumes produced from the additional wells drilled after the amended agreement are included in NW Natural's Oregon PGA at a fixed rate of $0.4725 per therm. NW Natural has not participated in additional wells since 2014.

DECOUPLING. In Oregon, NW Natural has a decoupling mechanism. Decoupling is intended to break the link between earnings and the quantity of gas consumed by customers, removing any financial incentive to discourage customers’ efforts to conserve energy. The Oregon decoupling baseline usage per customer was reset in the 2020 Oregon general rate case. The Order in the 2020 Oregon general rate case also approved extending NW Natural’s decoupling calculation for the months of November and May to the month of April. This mechanism employs a use-per-customer decoupling calculation, which adjusts margin revenues to account for the difference between actual and expected customer volumes. The margin adjustment resulting from differences between actual and expected volumes under the decoupling component is recorded to a deferral account, which is included in the annual PGA filing.

WARM. In Oregon, NW Natural has an approved weather normalization mechanism (WARM), which is applied to residential and small commercial customer bills. This mechanism is designed to help stabilize the collection of fixed costs by adjusting residential and small commercial customer billings based on temperature variances from average weather, with rate decreases when the weather is colder than average and rate increases when the weather is warmer than average. The mechanism is applied to bills from December through mid-May of each heating season. The mechanism adjusts the margin component of customers’ rates to reflect average weather, which uses the 25-year average temperature for each day of the billing period. Daily average temperatures and 25-year average temperatures are based on a set point temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit for residential customers and 58 degrees Fahrenheit for commercial customers. The collections of any unbilled WARM amounts due to tariff caps and floors are deferred and earn a carrying charge until collected, or returned, in the PGA the following year. Residential and small commercial customers in Oregon are allowed to opt out of the weather normalization mechanism, and as of March 31, 2023, 7% of total eligible customers had opted out. NW Natural does not have a weather normalization mechanism approved for Washington customers, which account for about 12% of total customers. See "Business Segment—Natural Gas Distribution" below.

INDUSTRIAL TARIFFS. The OPUC and WUTC have approved tariffs covering NGD service to major industrial customers, which are intended to give NW Natural certainty in the level of gas supplies needed to serve this customer group. The approved terms include, among other things, an annual election period, special pricing provisions for out-of-cycle changes, and a requirement that industrial customers complete the term of their service election under NW Natural's annual PGA tariff.

ENVIRONMENTAL COST DEFERRAL AND RECOVERY. NW Natural has authorizations in Oregon and Washington to defer costs related to remediation of properties that are owned or were previously owned by NW Natural. In Oregon, a Site Remediation and Recovery Mechanism (SRRM) is currently in place to recover prudently incurred costs allocable to Oregon customers, subject to an earnings test. Effective beginning November 1, 2019, the WUTC authorized an Environmental Cost Recovery Mechanism (ECRM) for recovery of prudently incurred costs allocable to Washington customers.

Oregon SRRM

Under the Oregon SRRM collection process there are three types of deferred environmental remediation expense:

•Pre-review - This class of costs represents remediation spend that has not yet been deemed prudent by the OPUC. Carrying costs on these remediation expenses are recorded at NW Natural's authorized cost of capital. NW Natural anticipates the prudence review for annual costs and approval of the earnings test prescribed by the OPUC to occur by the third quarter of the following year.

•Post-review - This class of costs represents remediation spend that has been deemed prudent and allowed after applying the earnings test, but is not yet included in amortization. NW Natural earns a carrying cost on these amounts at a rate equal to the five-year treasury rate plus 100 basis points.

•Amortization - This class of costs represents amounts included in current customer rates for collection and is calculated as one-fifth of the post-review deferred balance. NW Natural earns a carrying cost equal to the amortization rate determined annually by the OPUC, which approximates a short-term borrowing rate. NW Natural included $6.8 million and $6.3 million of deferred remediation expense approved by the OPUC for collection during the 2022-23 and 2021-22 PGA years, respectively.

In addition, the SRRM also provides for the annual collection of $5.0 million from Oregon customers through a tariff rider. As it collects amounts from customers, NW Natural recognizes these collections as revenue net of any earnings test adjustments and separately amortizes an equal and offsetting amount of the deferred regulatory asset balance through the environmental remediation operating expense line shown separately in the operating expenses section of the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss). For additional information, see Note 17 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

The SRRM earnings test is an annual review of adjusted NGD ROE compared to authorized NGD ROE. To apply the earnings test NW Natural must first determine what if any costs are subject to the test through the following calculation:


Annual spend
Less: $5.0 million base rate rider
Prior year carry-over(1)
$5.0 million insurance + interest on insurance
Total deferred annual spend subject to earnings test
Less: over-earnings adjustment, if any
Add: deferred interest on annual spend(2)
Total amount transferred to post-review

(1) Prior year carry-over results when the prior year amount transferred to post-review is negative. The negative amount is carried over to offset annual spend in the following year.

(2) Deferred interest is added to annual spend to the extent the spend is recoverable.

To the extent the NGD business earns at or below its authorized ROE as defined in the SRRM, the total amount transferred to post-review is recoverable through the SRRM. To the extent more than authorized ROE is earned in a year, the amount transferred to post-review would be reduced by those earnings that exceed its authorized ROE.

NW Natural concluded there was no earnings test adjustment for 2022 based on the environmental earnings test that was submitted in April 2023.

Washington ECRM

The ECRM established by the WUTC order effective November 1, 2019 permits NW Natural’s recovery of environmental remediation expenses allocable to Washington customers. These expenses represent 3.32% of costs associated with remediation of sites that historically served both Oregon and Washington customers. The order allows for recovery of past deferred and future prudently incurred remediation costs allocable to Washington through application of insurance proceeds and collections from customers. Prudently incurred costs that were deferred from the initial deferral authorization in February 2011 through June 2019 were fully offset with insurance proceeds, with any remaining insurance proceeds to be amortized over a 10.5 year period. On an annual basis NW Natural will file for a prudence determination and a request to recover remediation expenditures in excess of insurance amortizations in the following year's customer rates. After insurance proceeds are fully amortized, if in a particular year the request to collect deferred amounts exceeds one percent of Washington normalized revenues, then the excess will be collected over three years with interest.

INTERSTATE STORAGE AND ASSET MANAGEMENT SHARING. On an annual basis, NW Natural credits amounts to Oregon and Washington customers as part of a regulatory incentive sharing mechanism related to net revenues earned from Mist gas storage for assets developed in advance of utility customer needs, and asset management revenues. In January 2023, the OPUC approved the annual 2023 bill credit for Oregon customer’s share of interstate storage and asset management activities totaling approximately $23.5 million. This includes revenue generated for the November 2021 through October 2022 PGA year. Commercial and industrial customers in Oregon received this credit in February 2023, which totaled approximately $10.5 million. Residential customers in Oregon will receive this credit as a reduction to the temporary rate mitigation adjustment, which began March 2023, and totaled approximately $13.0 million. Credits are given to customers in Washington as reductions in rates through the annual PGA filing in November. Credits to Oregon and Washington customers in 2022 were approximately $41.1 million and $1.5 million, respectively.

Regulatory Proceeding Updates

During 2023, NW Natural was involved in the regulatory activities discussed below. For additional information, see Part II, Item 7 "Results of Operations—Regulatory Matters" in the 2022 Form 10-K.

COVID-19 DEFERRAL DOCKETS. During 2020, Oregon and Washington approved our applications to defer certain COVID-19 related costs. Costs that may be recoverable include, but are not limited to, the following: personal protective equipment, cleaning supplies and services, bad debt expense, financing costs to secure liquidity, and certain lost revenue, net of offsetting direct expense reductions associated with COVID-19. As of March 31, 2023, we believe that approximately $19.3 million of the financial effects related to COVID-19 are recoverable. As part of the 2022 Oregon general rate case, NW Natural received approval from the OPUC to recover the 2020 and 2021 COVID-19 deferral totaling$10.9 million beginning November 1, 2022 over a two-year period. As of March 31, 2023, approximately $7.0 million will be amortized through October 31, 2024 and NW Natural expect to request recovery of the remaining amount in the third year. Included in the total balance is approximately $2.4 million of forgone late fee revenue that will be recognized in future periods as billed. Beginning January 2023, NW Natural is no longer deferring any COVID-19 related costs in Oregon. NW Natural expects to recover its COVID-19 deferrals in Washington in a future proceeding.

LOW INCOME DISCOUNT TARIFF. In July 2022, NW Natural received approval from the OPUC for an income-qualifying residential bill discount program. The income threshold for program participation is at or below 60 percent of Oregon state median income (SMI). The program provides a bill discount for income-qualifying residential customers at four discount tier levels based on household income compared to SMI, with higher discounts given for lower income levels. Participating customers can self-certify their income and household size to qualify for the program directly with NW Natural or their local Community Action Agency. The program was available for qualifying customers starting November 1, 2022. Costs for the bill discount program include simultaneous recovery from all customers. Costs for the bill discount program, inclusive of start-up and administrative costs of the program, are recoverable in rates. The amount deferred to a regulatory asset as of March 31, 2023 was approximately $1.6 million.


	Total Household Income	Bill Discount Percentage
Tier 0	At or below 15% SMI	40%
Tier 1	16% - 30% of SMI	25%
Tier 2	31% - 45% of SMI	20%
Tier 3	46% - 60% of SMI	15%

RENEWABLE NATURAL GAS AND AUTOMATIC ADJUSTMENT CLAUSE. On June 19, 2019, the Oregon legislature passed Senate Bill 98 (SB 98), which enables natural gas utilities to procure or develop RNG on behalf of their Oregon customers. The bill was signed into law by the governor in July 2019, and subsequently, the OPUC adopted final rules in July 2020.

SB 98 and the rules outline the following parameters for the RNG program including: setting voluntary goals for adding as much as 30% renewable natural gas into the state’s pipeline system by 2050; enabling gas utilities to invest in and own the cleaning and conditioning equipment required to bring raw biogas and landfill gas up to pipeline quality, as well as the facilities to connect to the local gas distribution system; and allowing up to 5% of a utility’s revenue requirement to be used to cover the incremental cost or investment in renewable natural gas infrastructure.

Further, the law supports all forms of renewable natural gas including renewable hydrogen, which is made from excess wind, solar and hydro power. Renewable hydrogen can be used for the transportation system, industrial use, or blended into the natural gas pipeline system.

Pursuant to the 2022 Oregon general rate case, the OPUC ordered that the costs NW Natural sought to recover related to its investment in Lexington Renewables Energy LLC were reasonable and prudently incurred under SB 98. Furthermore, the OPUC approved an automatic adjustment clause that allows for NW Natural's investments in RNG projects, including operating costs, to be added to rates annually on November 1st, following a prudence review. The mechanism allows NW Natural to defer for recovery or credit the differences between the forecasted and actual costs of the RNG projects, subject to an earnings test that includes deadbands at 50 basis points below and above NW Natural's authorized ROE. For RNG procurement contracts, NW Natural seeks recovery of the costs in the PGA, subject to a prudence review.

In February 2023, NW Natural filed a request to include its investment in Dakota City Renewable Energy LLC in the approved RNG mechanism effective November 1, 2023. The parties are currently performing a prudence review and an OPUC order is expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. The RNG facility began production in April 2023. Under the RNG mechanism, expenses incurred prior to the rate effective date are not recoverable under this rate mechanism.

INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN (IRP). NW Natural generally files a full IRP biennially for Oregon and Washington with the OPUC and WUTC, respectively. NW Natural jointly filed its 2022 IRP for both Oregon and Washington on September 23, 2022. The 2022 IRP outlines scenarios of future requirements based on a range of inputs that would provide the least-cost and least-risk resources to meet future demand and environmental compliance obligations. In our most recent filing, we included certain demand and supply side projects that resulted in an action plan which is being evaluated by the OPUC and WUTC. With respect to IRPs generally, the WUTC issues letters of compliance and Oregon acknowledges the IRP. NW Natural anticipates the OPUC and WUTC to take action on our IRP by September 30, 2023.

PIPELINE SECURITY. In May and July 2021, the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released two security directives applicable to certain owners and operators of natural gas pipeline facilities (including local distribution companies). The first directive requires owners and operators to implement cybersecurity incident reporting to the DHS, designate a cybersecurity coordinator, and perform a gap assessment of current entity cybersecurity practices against certain voluntary TSA security guidelines and report relevant results and proposed mitigation to applicable DHS agencies. The second directive requires entities to implement a significant number of specified cyber security controls and processes. The TSA recently released a third directive renewing the second directive as well as clarifying Operational Technology (OT) scope and providing a risk- and outcome-based framework. The third directive is effective until July 2023. NW Natural is currently evaluating and implementing the security directives and related deliverables. NW Natural frequently updates the TSA on its progress on achieving the security directives.

NW Natural filed requests with the OPUC and WUTC to defer the costs associated with complying with the TSA's security directives. As of March 31, 2023, NW Natural has invested approximately $34.5 million in information and operational technology. A majority of the capital investment was included in rate base starting November 1, 2022 in Oregon.

NW Natural continues to evaluate the potential effect of these directives on our operations and facilities, as well as the potential total cost of implementation, and will continue to monitor for any clarifications or amendments to these directives. We may seek to request recovery from customers of any additional costs incurred to the extent that incremental expenses and capital expenditures are incurred in the future.

ERP UPGRADE. In the fourth quarter of 2020, NW Natural filed requests to defer expenses pertaining to a project to upgrade the existing ERP system with the OPUC and WUTC. A stipulation supported by all parties in the Oregon docket was filed and approved by the OPUC in the third quarter of 2021. Approval of the Washington deferral was resolved as part of the most recent general rate case. NW Natural placed its new ERP system into service in September 2022. On November 1, 2022, NW Natural began recovering all expenses deferred and accruing interest over a 10-year period.

WATER UTILITIES. NW Natural Water currently serves an estimated 156,000 people through approximately 63,000 connections across five states. In the first quarter of 2023, NWN Water signed a purchase agreement for a water utility with approximately 1,350 connections in Arizona. Application for approval of the purchase agreement was filed with the ACC and a decision is expected in the third quarter of 2023.

For our regulated water utilities, we have been executing general rate cases.

•In June 2022, Avion Water Company filed a general rate case with the OPUC and the OPUC allowed rates to go into effect January 1, 2023.

•In July 2022, Gem State Water Company filed a general rate case with the IPUC and the IPUC allowed rates to go into effect March 1, 2023.

•In February 2023, Salmon Valley Water Company filed a general rate case with the OPUC and requested rates to go into effect August 1, 2023.

Environmental Regulation and Legislation Matters

There is a growing international and domestic focus on climate change and the contribution of GHG emissions, most notably methane and carbon dioxide, to climate change. In response, there are increasing efforts at the international, federal, state, and local level to regulate GHG emissions. Legislation or other forms of regulation could take a variety of forms including, but not limited to, GHG emissions limits, reporting requirements, carbon taxes, requirements to purchase carbon credits, building codes, increased efficiency standards, additional charges to fund energy efficiency activities or other regulatory actions, incentives or mandates to conserve energy, or use renewable energy sources, tax advantages and other subsidies to support alternative energy sources, a reduction in rate recovery for construction costs related to the installation of new customer services or other new infrastructure investments, mandates for the use of specific fuels or technologies, bans on specific fuels or technologies, or promotion of research into new technologies to reduce the cost and increase the scalability of alternative energy sources. These efforts could include legislation, legislative proposals, or new regulations at the federal, state, and local level, as well as private party litigation related to GHG emissions or regulation thereof. We recognize certain of our businesses, including our natural gas business, are likely to be affected by current or future regulation seeking to limit GHG emissions.

International

In early 2021, the U.S. rejoined the Paris Agreement on Climate, which establishes non-binding targets to reduce GHG emissions from both developed and developing nations. Under the Paris Agreement, signatory countries are expected to submit their nationally determined contributions to curb GHG emissions and meet the agreed temperature objectives every five years. On April 22, 2021, the United States federal administration announced the U.S. nationally determined contribution to achieve a fifty to fifty-two percent reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net GHG emissions by 2030.

Federal

President Biden’s administration has issued executive orders directing agencies to conduct a general review of regulations and executive actions related to the environment and reestablished a framework for considering the social cost of carbon as part of certain agency cost-benefit analyses for new regulations. President Biden’s administration continues to consider a wide range of additional policies, executive orders, rules, legislation, and other initiatives to address climate change.

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law in August 2022 and includes several climate and energy provisions. We expect that over a ten year period, the IRA will provide approximately $415 billion of funding through grants, tax credits, and investments to support various initiatives including manufacturing, renewable energy production and consumption, transportation electrification and climate-smart agriculture. The IRA includes tax credits for RNG, hydrogen and carbon capture projects, among other investments. The IRA also includes funding for the EPA to improve GHG reporting and enforcement, as well as a methane fee applicable to activities associated with gas production and processing facilities, transmission pipelines and certain storage facilities, creates a new corporate alternative minimum tax of 15 percent that applies to corporations with average annual financial statement income in excess of one billion dollars, and creates a new 1 percent excise tax on the net stock repurchases by public companies. We are assessing effects of the IRA that are relevant to our businesses, and will continue to do so as it is implemented. The U.S. Congress may also pass federal climate change legislation in the future. We cannot predict when or if Congress will pass such legislation and in what form.

In addition, the EPA regulates GHG emissions pursuant to the Clean Air Act. For example, the EPA requires the annual reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from certain industries, specified emission sources, and facilities. Under this reporting rule, local natural gas distribution companies like NW Natural are required to report system throughput to the EPA on an annual basis. The EPA also has required additional GHG reporting regulations to which NW Natural is subject, requiring the annual reporting of fugitive emissions from operations. Other federal regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, are beginning to address greenhouse gas emissions that may include changes in their regulatory oversight approach, policies and rules.

Other federal agencies have taken or are expected to take actions related to climate change. For example, in March 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed new rules relating to the disclosure of a range of climate-related matters, PHMSA is expected to prepare regulations and other actions to limit methane emissions, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has indicated it intends to take actions related to oversight of climate-related financial risks as pertinent to the derivatives and underlying commodities markets. Similarly, other federal agencies and regulations, including but not limited to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the U.S. Department of Treasury, Federal Acquisitions Regulations, and others have indicated impending regulatory actions related to climate change. To the extent these agencies adopt final rules as proposed or in modified form, we or our customers could incur increased costs. These could include internal costs as well as external costs such as the cost of independent experts to provide attestation reports on our GHG emissions data and increased audit costs.

Washington State

In 2022, Washington comprised approximately 12% of NW Natural’s revenues, as well as 1% and 18% of new meters from commercial and residential customers, respectively. Effective February 1, 2021, building codes in Washington state require new residential homes to achieve higher levels of energy efficiency based on specified carbon emissions assumptions, which calculate electric appliances to have lower on-site GHG emissions than comparable gas appliances. This increases the cost of new home construction incorporating natural gas depending on a number of factors including home size, equipment configurations, and building envelope measures. Additionally, the Washington State Building Code Council (SBCC) voted in April 2022 to include updates in the state commercial building energy code that would restrict or eliminate the use of gas space and water heating in new commercial construction. In November 2022, the SBCC voted to include updates to the state residential building energy code that are expected to restrict the use of gas space and water heating in residential construction, with certain exceptions including for natural gas-fired heat pumps and hybrid fuel systems. The SBBC commercial and residential rules are expected to become effective July 1, 2023. Utilities and other organizations, including NW Natural, are reviewing the proposed building energy code updates, the process by which the updates have been considered, and the legality of the building code updates. We expect the building code changes to be subject to legal challenge.

Washington has also enacted the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), which establishes a comprehensive program that includes an overall limit for GHG emissions from major sources in the state that declines yearly beginning January 1, 2023, resulting in an overall reduction of GHG emissions to 95% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Washington Department of Ecology has adopted rules to create a cap-and-invest program, under which entities, including natural gas and electric utilities, large manufacturing facilities, and transportation and other fuel providers, which are subject to the CCA must either reduce their emissions, purchase qualifying offsets (including RNG) or obtain allowances to cover any remaining emissions. NW Natural is subject to the CCA, has received an order authorizing deferral of CCA costs from the WUTC, and intends to pursue inclusion of CCA compliance costs in rates.

Oregon

On March 10, 2020, the governor of Oregon issued an executive order (EO) establishing GHG emissions reduction goals of at least 45% below 1990 emission levels by 2035 and at least 80% below 1990 emission levels by 2050 and directed state agencies and commissions to facilitate such GHG emission goals targeting a variety of sources and industries. Although the EO does not specifically direct actions of natural gas distribution businesses, the OPUC is directed to prioritize proceedings and activities that advance decarbonization in the utility sector, mitigate the energy burden experienced by utility customers and ensure system reliability and resource adequacy. The EO also directs other state agencies, including the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), to cap and reduce GHG emissions from transportation fuels and all other liquid and gaseous fuels, including natural gas, adopt building energy efficiency goals for new building construction, reduce methane gas emissions from landfills and food waste, and submit a proposal for adoption of state goals for carbon sequestration and storage by

Oregon’s forest, wetlands and agricultural lands. The OPUC is charged with carrying out the EO to the extent it is consistent with its statutory authority and duties, and in doing so to focus on equitable impacts to low-income customers.

In December 2021, the ODEQ concluded its rulemaking process and issued final cap and reduce rules for its Climate Protection Program (CPP), which became effective in January of 2022. The CPP outlines GHG emissions reduction goals of 50% by 2035 and 90% by 2050 from a 1990 baseline. The first three-year compliance period is 2022 through 2024. NW Natural is subject to the CPP, and pursuant to this rule, is required to make its first compliance filing in 2025. We have received an order from the OPUC authorizing deferral of CPP compliance costs and intend to pursue inclusion of those compliance costs in rates. The CPP has been subject to legal challenge by a number of utilities, companies and organizations, including NW Natural.

Local Jurisdictions and Other Advocacy

In addition to legislative activities at the state level, advocacy groups have indicated a willingness to pursue ballot measures and other local activities. Some local and county governments in the United States also have been proposing or passing renewable energy resolutions, restrictions, taxes, or fees seeking to accelerate climate action goals. A number of cities across the country, and several in our service territory are taking action or currently considering actions such as limitations or bans on the use of natural gas in new construction or otherwise. For example, in February 2023, the Eugene City Council passed an ordinance that prohibits the use of natural gas in low rise residential buildings beginning with permits submitted after June of 2023. That ordinance has been referred to the voters and will be on the November 2023 ballot. Similarly, some jurisdictions and advocates are seeking to ban the use of natural gas and certain natural gas appliances inside homes and contend that there are detrimental indoor public health effects associated with the use of natural gas.

NW Natural is actively engaged with federal, state and local policymakers, consumers, customers, small businesses and other business coalitions, economic development practitioners, and other advocates in our service territory and is working with these communities to communicate the role that direct use natural gas, and in the coming years, RNG and hydrogen, can play in pursuing more effective policies to reduce GHGs while supporting reliability, resiliency, energy choice, equity, and energy affordability.

NW Natural Decarbonization Initiatives & Compliance Actions

Our customers are currently paying less for their natural gas today than they did 15 years ago. We expect that compliance with any form of regulation of GHG emissions, including the CPP in Oregon and CCA in Washington as well as voluntary actions under SB 98 or otherwise, will require additional resources and compliance tools, and will increase costs. The developing and changing implementation guidance for the CCA and CPP, evolving carbon credit markets and other compliance tool options, decades-long timeframes for compliance, likely changing and evolving laws and energy policy, and evolving technological advancements, all make it difficult to accurately predict long-term tools for and costs of compliance. In September 2022, NW Natural filed its integrated resource plans (IRPs) with the OPUC and WUTC. Those IRPs comprehensively evaluate resource options available to serve NW Natural's customers' energy, capacity and environmental compliance needs. The resources selected for compliance with the CPP and CCA, and therefore the costs associated with those resources are, in part, dependent upon the resolution of our IRP dockets and the resources selected. While we have modeled compliance with the CCA and CPP in our IRPs, given the recency of the adoption of the final CPP and CCA rules and changing guidance with respect to those rules, the nature of our compliance obligations, the manner in which we intend to comply, and the expected costs of compliance are uncertain and subject to significant change, particularly after the first compliance period, and especially with respect to the CPP, under which programs are still being developed. For the first compliance period under the CCA, we currently anticipate that we will comply by purchasing RNG or attributes to reduce emissions, making full use of offsets available under the CCA, meeting remaining compliance requirements by purchasing allowances through the processes outlined under the CCA, and returning all money received from the sale of free carbon allowances to customers. We intend to pursue inclusion of costs of compliance with the CCA in rates, and currently believe that the costs to comply could increase non-low income residential bills by an estimated 1.5% to 6% in the first year of compliance.

The CPP in Oregon is largely tied to the volume of natural gas consumed and as such, we currently expect that CPP cost impacts will be the lowest among residential customers because they generally consume less, and highest among industrial customers that use significantly higher volumes of natural gas, with cost increases for commercial customers falling between residential and industrial customers. We currently expect that the majority of our needed emissions reduction in Oregon for the first CPP compliance period of 2022-2025 can be met with purchases of RNG or its attributes, with modest supplemental purchases of Community Climate Investments (CCIs) when that program becomes available. We intend to pursue costs of compliance with the CPP in rates and currently believe those costs could increase non-low income residential bills by an estimated 1% to 9% in the first compliance period.

These projected customer bill impacts of the CCA and CPP are estimates, are likely to increase beyond the first compliance period, and are subject to change as these laws are implemented and compliance begins. The costs are also likely to vary significantly based on forecasting assumptions related to permitted levels of rate recovery, available technologies and equipment, weather patterns and gas usage, customer growth or attrition, allocation of fixed costs among classes of customers, energy efficiency levels, availability, use and cost of renewables, feasibility of broad-scale hydrogen in the natural gas system, and a number of other assumptions used in the complex analysis of integrated resource planning.

We are not currently able to quantify the extent to which limitations on natural gas use, or declining line extension allowances provided in rates to cover construction costs for new services, will affect new meter additions, or to what extent carbon compliance costs included in rates will affect the competitiveness of our business and the demand for natural gas service. All of these developments could negatively affect our gas utility customer growth. However, at the same time natural gas utilities will be subject to GHG emissions regulation, we expect that other energy source providers will be subject to similar, or in some cases stricter or more rapid, compliance requirements that are likely to affect their cost and competitiveness relative to natural gas as well. For example, President Biden has announced his intention to have a carbon-free electricity sector by 2035, 15 years before the target date of the CCA or CCP. In June 2021, the State of Oregon enacted HB 2021, a clean electricity bill that requires the state’s two largest investor-owned electric utilities and retail electricity service suppliers to reduce GHG emissions associated with electricity sold to Oregon customers to 100 percent below baseline levels by 2040 with interim steps, including an 80 percent reduction by 2030 and 90 percent reduction by 2035. This bill does not replace the separate renewable portfolio standards previously established in Oregon, which sets requirements for how much of the electricity used in Oregon must come from renewable resources. In Washington, SB 5116, the Clean Energy Transformation Act, requires all electric utilities in Washington to transition to carbon-neutral electricity by 2030 and to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045. We expect compliance with these and other laws will increase the cost of energy for electric customers in our service territory. We are not able to determine at this time whether increased electricity costs will make natural gas use more or less competitive on a relative basis.

We expect these and other trends to drive innovation of, and demand for, technological developments and innovative new products that reduce GHG emissions. Research and development are occurring across the energy sector, including in the gas sector with work being conducted on gas-fired heat pumps, higher efficiency water and space heating appliances including hybrid systems, carbon capture utilization and storage developments, continued development of technologies related to RNG, and various forms of hydrogen for different applications, among others.

NW Natural continues to take proactive steps in seeking to reduce GHG emissions in our region and is proactively communicating with local, state, and federal governments and communities about those steps. NW Natural has been a leader among gas utilities in innovative programs. Notable programs have included a decoupling rate structure designed to weaken the link between revenue and gas consumption by customers adopted in 2007, and establishment of a voluntary Smart Energy carbon offset program for customers established in 2007, and removal of all known cast iron and bare steel to create one of the tightest and most modern distribution systems in the country. We continue to believe that NW Natural has an important role in providing affordable and equitable energy to the communities we serve. NW Natural is an important provider of energy to families and businesses in Oregon and southwest Washington. Natural gas sales to our residential and commercial customers account for approximately 6% of Oregon’s GHG emissions according to the 2019 data from the State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality In-Boundary GHG Inventory. We intend to continue to provide this necessary energy to our communities with the goal of using our modern pipeline system to help the Pacific Northwest transition to a cleaner energy future.

In 2016, NW Natural initiated a multi-pronged, multi-year strategy to accelerate and deliver greater GHG emission reductions in the communities we serve. Key components of this strategy include customer energy efficiency, continued adoption of NW Natural's voluntary Smart Energy carbon offset program, and seeking to incorporate RNG and hydrogen into our gas supply. RNG is produced from organic materials including food, agricultural and forestry waste, wastewater, or landfills. We believe RNG has the potential to significantly reduce net GHG emissions because methane that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere can be captured from these organic materials as they decompose and then conditioned to pipeline quality and distributed into our existing system. In 2019, Oregon Senate Bill 98 (SB 98) was signed into law enabling NW Natural to procure RNG on behalf of customers and provided voluntary targets that would allow us to make qualified investments and purchase RNG from third parties.

Under SB 98, NW Natural is actively working to procure RNG supply for customers and increase the amount of RNG on our system and is also exploring the development of renewable hydrogen through power to gas. To that end, in 2020 and 2021, NW Natural announced several agreements and investments to procure RNG for its customers. For example, NW Natural began a partnership with BioCarbN to invest up to an estimated $38 million in four separate RNG development projects that will access biogas derived from water treatment at Tyson Foods’ processing plants, subject to approval by all parties. The first project was commissioned in early 2022 and the second was commissioned in April 2023. To date, NW Natural has signed agreements with options to purchase or develop RNG for utility customers totaling about 3% of NW Natural’s annual sales volume in Oregon.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

Capital Structure

NW Holdings' long-term goal is to maintain a strong and balanced consolidated capital structure. NW Natural targets a regulatory capital structure of 50% common equity and 50% long-term debt, which is consistent with approved regulatory allocations in Oregon, which has an allocation of 50% common equity and 50% long-term debt without recognition of short-term debt, and Washington, which has an allocation of 50% long-term debt, 1% short-term debt, and 49% common equity.

When additional capital is required, debt or equity securities are issued depending on both the target capital structure and market conditions. These sources of capital are also used to fund long-term debt retirements and short-term commercial paper maturities. See "Liquidity and Capital Resources" below and Note 9. Achieving our target capital structure and maintaining

sufficient liquidity to meet operating requirements is necessary to maintain attractive credit ratings and provide access to the capital markets at reasonable costs.

NW Holdings' consolidated capital structure, excluding short-term debt, was as follows:


	March 31,				December 31,
	2023		2022		2022
Common equity	44.8	%	48.6	%	46.8	%
Long-term debt (including current maturities)	55.2		51.4		53.2
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

NW Natural's consolidated capital structure, excluding short-term debt, was as follows:


	March 31,				December 31,
	2023		2022		2022
Common equity	48.6	%	50.9	%	51.4	%
Long-term debt (including current maturities)	51.4		49.1		48.6
Total	100.0	%	100.0	%	100.0	%

As of March 31, 2023 and 2022, and December 31, 2022, NW Holdings' consolidated capital structure included common equity of 43.7%, 41.8% and 42.4%; long-term debt of 45.3%, 44.1% and 45.0%; and short-term debt including current maturities of long-term debt of 11.0%, 14.1% and 12.6%, respectively. As of March 31, 2023 and 2022, and December 31, 2022, NW Natural's consolidated capital structure included common equity of 48.6%, 46.5%, and 47.9%; long-term debt of 47.9%, 44.9% and 41.6%; and short-term debt including current maturities of long-term debt of 3.5%, 8.6%, and 10.5%, respectively.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

At March 31, 2023 and 2022, NW Holdings had approximately $140.8 million and $24.3 million, and NW Natural had approximately $129.7 million and $10.2 million of cash and cash equivalents, respectively. In order to maintain sufficient liquidity during periods when capital markets are volatile, NW Holdings and NW Natural may elect to maintain higher cash balances and add short-term borrowing capacity. NW Holdings and NW Natural may also pre-fund their respective capital expenditures when long-term fixed rate environments are attractive. NW Holdings and NW Natural expect to have ample liquidity in the form of cash on hand and from operations and available credit capacity under credit facilities to support funding needs.

Equity Issuance

ATM Equity Program

NW Holdings

For NW Holdings, short-term liquidity is primarily provided by cash balances, dividends from its operating subsidiaries, in particular NW Natural, available cash from a multi-year credit facility, and short-term credit facilities. NW Holdings also has a universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC for the issuance of debt and equity securities. NW Holdings long-term debt, if any, and equity issuances are primarily used to provide equity contributions to NW Holdings’ operating subsidiaries for operating and capital expenditures and other corporate purposes. From 2023 through 2025, we estimate NW Holdings’ and NW Natural's combined incremental capital needs to be in the range of $450 million to $550 million. NW Holdings intends to use raised capital to support NW Natural, NW Natural Water, and NW Natural Renewables operating and capital expenditure programs. NW Holdings' issuance of securities is not subject to regulation by state public utility commissions, but the dividends from NW Natural to NW Holdings are subject to regulatory ring-fencing provisions. NW Holdings guarantees the debt of its wholly-owned subsidiary, NWN Water. See "Long-Term Debt" below for more information regarding NWN Water debt.

As part of the ring-fencing conditions agreed upon with the OPUC and WUTC in connection with the holding company reorganization, NW Natural may not pay dividends or make distributions to NW Holdings if NW Natural’s credit ratings and common equity ratio, defined as the ratio of equity to long-term debt, fall below specified levels. If NW Natural’s long-term

secured credit ratings are below A- for S&P and A3 for Moody’s, dividends may be issued so long as NW Natural’s common equity ratio is 45% or more. If NW Natural’s long-term secured credit ratings are below BBB for S&P and Baa2 for Moody’s, dividends may be issued so long as NW Natural’s common equity ratio is 46% or more. Dividends may not be issued if NW Natural’s long-term secured credit ratings are BB+ or below for S&P or Ba1 or below for Moody’s, or if NW Natural’s common equity ratio is below 44%, where the ratio is measured using common equity and long-term debt excluding imputed debt or debt-like lease obligations. In each case, common equity ratios are determined based on a preceding or projected 13-month average. In addition, there are certain OPUC notice requirements for dividends in excess of 5% of NW Natural’s retained earnings.

Additionally, if NW Natural’s common equity (excluding goodwill and equity associated with non-regulated assets), on a preceding or projected 13-month average basis, is less than 46% of NW Natural’s capital structure, NW Natural is required to notify the OPUC, and if the common equity ratio falls below 44%, file a plan with the OPUC to restore its equity ratio to 44%. This condition is designed to ensure NW Natural continues to be adequately capitalized under the holding company structure. Under the WUTC order, the average common equity ratio must not exceed 56%.

At March 31, 2023, NW Natural satisfied the ring-fencing provisions described above.

Based on several factors, including current cash reserves, committed credit facilities, its ability to receive dividends from its operating subsidiaries, in particular NW Natural, and an expected ability to issue long-term debt and equity securities in the capital markets, NW Holdings believes its liquidity is sufficient to meet anticipated near-term cash requirements, including all contractual obligations, investing, and financing activities as discussed in "Cash Flows" below.

NW HOLDINGS DIVIDENDS. Quarterly dividends have been paid on common stock each year since NW Holdings’ predecessor’s stock was first issued to the public in 1951. Annual common stock dividend payments per share, adjusted for stock splits, have increased each year since 1956. The declarations and amount of future dividends to shareholders will depend upon earnings, cash flows, financial condition, NW Natural’s ability to pay dividends to NW Holdings and other factors. The amount and timing of dividends payable on common stock is at the sole discretion of the NW Holdings Board of Directors.

NW Natural

For the NGD business segment, short-term borrowing requirements typically peak during colder winter months when the NGD business borrows money to cover the lag between natural gas purchases and bill collections from customers. Short-term liquidity for the NGD business is primarily provided by cash balances, internal cash flow from operations, proceeds from the sale of commercial paper notes, as well as available cash from multi-year credit facilities, short-term credit facilities, company-owned life insurance policies, the sale of long-term debt, and equity contributions from NW Holdings. NW Natural's long-term debt and contributions from NW Holdings are primarily used to finance NGD capital expenditures, refinance maturing debt, and provide temporary funding for other general corporate purposes of the NGD business.

Based on its current debt ratings (see "Credit Ratings" below), NW Natural has been able to issue commercial paper and long-term debt at attractive rates. In the event NW Natural is not able to issue new long-term debt due to adverse market conditions or other reasons, NW Natural expects that near-term liquidity needs can be met using internal cash flows, issuing commercial paper, receiving equity contributions from NW Holdings, or drawing upon a committed credit facility. NW Natural also has a universal shelf registration statement filed with the SEC for the issuance of secured and unsecured debt securities.

In the event NW Natural senior unsecured long-term debt ratings are downgraded, or outstanding derivative positions exceed a certain credit threshold, counterparties under derivative contracts could require NW Natural to post cash, a letter of credit, or other forms of collateral, which could expose NW Natural to additional cash requirements and may trigger increases in short-term borrowings while in a net loss position. NW Natural was not required to post collateral at March 31, 2023. See "Credit Ratings" below and Note 15.

Other items that may have a significant impact on NW Natural's liquidity and capital resources include NW Natural's pension contribution requirements and environmental expenditures. For additional information, see Part II, Item 7 "Financial Condition" in the 2022 Form 10-K.

Gas and Pipeline Capacity Purchase Agreements

NW Natural Renewables is an unregulated subsidiary of NW Natural Holdings established to pursue unregulated renewable natural gas activities. In September 2021, a subsidiary of NW Natural Renewables and a subsidiary of EDL, a global producer of sustainable distributed energy, executed agreements to develop two production facilities that are designed to convert landfill waste gases to RNG. Testing and commissioning of the production facilities is expected to occur in 2023. Upon completion of each facility, the subsidiary of NW Natural Renewables is committed to make cash payments totaling $50.1 million to partially fund the infrastructure required to condition biogas and connect gas production to existing regional pipeline networks. Alongside these development agreements, a subsidiary of NW Natural Renewables and a subsidiary of EDL executed agreements designed to obtain a 20-year supply of RNG produced by the facilities for NW Natural Renewables. Following the completion of each facility, we estimate the amount of RNG purchases based on prices and quantities specified in the agreements are as follows: approximately $5.7 million in 2023, $10.5 million in 2024, $21.0 million in 2025, $21.0 million in 2026, $27.3 million in 2027 and $571.4 million thereafter. NW Natural Renewables has separately contracted to sell an equivalent amount of fixed-volume RNG supply to investment grade counterparties under long-term contracts.

Short-Term Debt

The primary source of short-term liquidity for NW Holdings is cash balances, dividends from its operating subsidiaries, in particular NW Natural, available cash from a multi-year credit facility, and short-term credit facilities it may enter into from time to time.

The primary source of short-term liquidity for NW Natural is from the sale of commercial paper, available cash from a multi-year credit facility, and short-term credit facilities it may enter into from time to time. In addition to issuing commercial paper or entering into bank loans to meet working capital requirements, including seasonal requirements to finance gas purchases and accounts receivable, short-term debt may also be used to temporarily fund capital requirements. For NW Natural, commercial paper and bank loans are periodically refinanced through the sale of long-term debt or equity contributions from NW Holdings. Commercial paper, when outstanding, is sold through two commercial banks under an issuing and paying agency agreement and is supported by one or more unsecured revolving credit facilities. See “Credit Agreements” below.

At March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022, short-term debt consisted of the following:


	March 31, 2023				March 31, 2022				December 31, 2022
In millions	Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)		Balance Outstanding		Weighted Average Interest Rate(1)
NW Natural:
Commercial paper	$	—	—	%	$	188.5	0.8	%	$	170.2	4.6	%
Other (NW Holdings):
Credit agreement	72.5		5.9	%	144.0		1.5	%	88.0		5.3	%
NW Holdings	$	72.5			$	332.5			$	258.2

(1) Weighted average interest rate on outstanding short-term debt

Credit Agreements

NW Holdings

At March 31, 2023, NW Holdings had a $200 million sustainability-linked credit agreement, with a feature that allows it to request increases in the total commitment amount, up to a maximum of $300 million. The maturity date of the agreement is November 3, 2026, with available extensions of commitments for two additional one-year periods, subject to lender approval.

All lenders under the NW Holdings credit agreement are major financial institutions with committed balances and investment grade credit ratings as of March 31, 2023 as follows:


In millions
Lender rating, by category	Loan Commitment
AA/Aa	$	200

Total	$	200

Based on credit market conditions, it is possible one or more lending commitments could be unavailable to NW Holdings if the lender defaulted due to lack of funds or insolvency; however, NW Holdings does not believe this risk to be imminent due to the lenders' strong investment-grade credit ratings. At March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022, $72.5 million, $144.0 million and $88.0 million were drawn under the NW Holdings Credit Agreement, respectively.

The NW Holdings credit agreement permits the issuance of letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to $40 million. The principal amount of borrowings under the credit agreement is due and payable on the maturity date. The credit agreement requires NW Holdings to maintain a consolidated indebtedness to total capitalization ratio of 70% or less. Failure to comply with this covenant would entitle the lenders to terminate their lending commitments and accelerate the maturity of all amounts outstanding. NW Holdings was in compliance with this covenant at March 31, 2023 and 2022, with consolidated indebtedness to total capitalization ratios of 56.3% and 58.2%, respectively.

The NW Holdings credit agreement also requires NW Holdings to maintain debt ratings (which are defined by a formula using NW Natural's credit ratings in the event NW Holdings does not have a credit rating) with Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's Investors Service, Inc. (Moody’s) and notify the lenders of any change in its senior unsecured debt ratings or senior secured debt ratings, as applicable, by such rating agencies. A change in NW Holdings' debt ratings by S&P or Moody’s is not an event of default, nor is the maintenance of a specific minimum level of debt rating a condition of drawing upon the credit agreement. Rather, interest rates on any loans outstanding under the credit agreements are tied to debt ratings and therefore, a change in the debt rating would increase or decrease the cost of any loans under the credit agreements when ratings are changed. NW Holdings does not currently maintain ratings with S&P or Moody's.

Interest charges on the NW Holdings credit agreement were indexed to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) through January 31, 2023. The agreement was amended to replace LIBOR with the secured overnight financing rate (SOFR) beginning February 2023. The SOFR is subject to a 10 basis point spread adjustment. The NW Holdings credit agreement also includes a

mechanism that can increase or decrease the undrawn interest rate by up to 1 basis point and undrawn interest rate by up to 5 basis points in accordance with NW Holdings’ independently verified achievement of quantifiable metrics related to two goals—one related to carbon savings and one related to in-line inspections of NW Natural’s transmission pipeline. Performance against these metrics is designed to be assessed annually with pricing adjustments, if any, resetting off of primary pricing annually and not cumulatively.

NW Holdings had no letters of credit issued and outstanding at March 31, 2023 and 2022.

NW Natural

At March 31, 2023, NW Natural had a sustainability-linked multi-year credit agreement for unsecured revolving loans totaling $400 million, with a feature that allows NW Natural to request increases in the total commitment amount, up to a maximum of $600 million. The maturity date of the agreement is November 3, 2026 with an available extension of commitments for two additional one-year periods, subject to lender approval.

All lenders under the NW Natural credit agreement are major financial institutions with committed balances and investment grade credit ratings as of March 31, 2023 as follows:


In millions
Lender rating, by category	Loan Commitment
AA/Aa	$	400

Total	$	400

Based on credit market conditions, it is possible one or more lending commitments could be unavailable to NW Natural if the lender defaulted due to lack of funds or insolvency; however, NW Natural does not believe this risk to be imminent due to the lenders' strong investment-grade credit ratings. NW Natural did not have any outstanding balances drawn under this credit facility at March 31, 2023, March 31, 2022 and December 31, 2022. In February 2023, NW Natural issued a $14.0 million letter of credit, which was not drawn upon and expired in March 2023.

The NW Natural credit agreement permits the issuance of letters of credit in an aggregate amount of up to $60 million. The principal amount of borrowings under the credit agreement is due and payable on the maturity date. There were no outstanding balances under this credit agreement at March 31, 2023 or 2022. The credit agreement requires NW Natural to maintain a consolidated indebtedness to total capitalization ratio of 70% or less. Failure to comply with this covenant would entitle the lenders to terminate their lending commitments and accelerate the maturity of all amounts outstanding. NW Natural was in compliance with this covenant at March 31, 2023 and 2022, with consolidated indebtedness to total capitalization ratios of 51.4% and 53.5%, respectively.

The NW Natural credit agreement also requires NW Natural to maintain credit ratings with S&P and Moody’s and notify the lenders of any change in NW Natural's senior unsecured debt ratings or senior secured debt ratings, as applicable, by such rating agencies. A change in NW Natural's debt ratings by S&P or Moody’s is not an event of default, nor is the maintenance of a specific minimum level of debt rating a condition of drawing upon the credit agreement. Rather, interest rates on any loans outstanding under the credit agreement are tied to debt ratings and therefore, a change in the debt rating would increase or decrease the cost of any loans under the credit agreement when ratings are changed. See "Credit Ratings" below.

Interest charges on the NW Natural credit agreement were indexed to the LIBOR through January 31, 2023. The agreement was amended to replace LIBOR with the SOFR beginning February 2023. The SOFR is subject to a 10 basis point spread adjustment. The NW Natural credit agreement also includes a mechanism that can increase or decrease the undrawn interest rate by up to 1 basis point and undrawn interest rate by up to 5 basis points in accordance with NW Natural’s independently verified achievement of quantifiable metrics related to two goals—one related to carbon savings and one related to in-line inspections of NW Natural’s transmission pipeline. Performance against these metrics is designed to be assessed annually with pricing adjustments, if any, resetting off of primary pricing annually and not cumulatively.

Credit Ratings

NW Holdings does not currently maintain ratings with S&P or Moody's. NW Natural's credit ratings are a factor of liquidity, potentially affecting access to the capital markets including the commercial paper market. NW Natural's credit ratings also have an impact on the cost of funds and the need to post collateral under derivative contracts. The following table summarizes NW Natural's current credit ratings:

S&P

Moody's

Commercial paper (short-term debt)

A-1

P-2

Senior secured (long-term debt)

AA-

Senior unsecured (long-term debt)

n/a

Baa1

Corporate credit rating

A+

n/a

Ratings outlook

Stable

The above credit ratings and ratings outlook are dependent upon a number of factors, both qualitative and quantitative, and are subject to change at any time. The disclosure of or reference to these credit ratings is not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold NW Holdings or NW Natural securities. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating.

As part of the ring-fencing conditions agreed upon with the OPUC and WUTC in connection with the holding company reorganization, NW Holdings and NW Natural are required to maintain separate credit ratings, long-term debt ratings, and preferred stock ratings, if any.

Long-Term Debt

Issuance of Long-Term Debt

In December 2022, NW Natural entered into a Bond Purchase Agreement between NW Natural and the institutional investors named as purchasers therein. The Bond Purchase Agreement provides for the issuance of (i) $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s First Mortgage Bonds (FMBs), 5.43% Series due 2053 (5.43% Bonds), (ii) $80.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s FMBs, 5.18% Series due 2034 (5.18% Bonds) and (iii) $50.0 million aggregate principal amount of NW Natural’s FMBs, 5.23% Series due 2038 (5.23% Bonds) in reliance on an exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

In January 2023, NW Natural issued and sold $100.0 million aggregate principal amount of its FMBs, 5.43% Series due

January 6, 2053, to certain institutional investors pursuant to the Bond Purchase Agreement. The 5.43% Bonds bear interest at the rate of 5.43% per annum, payable semi-annually on January 6 and July 6 of each year,

commencing July 6, 2023, and will mature on January 6, 2053.

At March 31, 2023, NW Holdings and NW Natural had long-term debt outstanding of $1,535.3 million and $1,324.4 million, respectively, which included $10.4 million and $10.3 million of unamortized debt issuance costs at NW Holdings and NW Natural, respectively. NW Natural's long-term debt consists of first mortgage bonds (FMBs) with maturity dates ranging from 2023 through 2053, interest rates ranging from 2.8% to 7.9%, and a weighted average interest rate of 4.6%. NW Holdings' long-term debt primarily consists of credit agreements at NW Holdings and NWN Water with maturity dates in 2024 and a term loan at NWN Water due in 2026.

$90.0 million of long-term debt is scheduled to mature over the next twelve months as of March 31, 2023 at NW Natural and $150.7 million at NW Holdings. See Part II, Item 7, "Financial Condition—Long-Term Debt" in the 2022 Form 10-K for long-term debt maturing over the next five years.

Interest Rate Swap Agreements

NW Holdings and NWN Water entered into interest rate swap agreements with major financial institutions that effectively convert variable-rate debt to a fixed rate. Interest payments made between the effective date and expiration date are hedged by the swap agreements. The notional amount, effective date, expiration date and rate of the swap agreements are shown in the table below:


In millions	Notional Amount		Effective Date	Expiration Date	Fixed Rate
NW Holdings	$	100.0	1/17/2023	3/15/2024	4.7	%
NWN Water	$	55.0	1/19/2023	6/10/2026	3.8	%

Bankruptcy Ring-fencing Restrictions

As part of the ring-fencing conditions agreed upon with the OPUC and WUTC, NW Natural is required to have one director who is independent from NW Natural management and from NW Holdings and to issue one share of NW Natural preferred stock to an independent third party. NW Natural was in compliance with both of these ring-fencing provisions as of March 31, 2023. NW Natural may file a voluntary petition for bankruptcy only if approved unanimously by the Board of Directors of NW Natural, including the independent director, and by the holder of the preferred share.

Cash Flows

Operating Activities

Changes in operating cash flows are primarily affected by net income or loss, changes in working capital requirements, and other cash and non-cash adjustments to operating results.


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		YTD Change
NW Natural cash provided by operating activities	$	174,831	$	138,230	$	36,601
NW Holdings cash provided by operating activities	$	176,861	$	141,037	$	35,824

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Cash provided by operating activities increased $35.8 million at NW Holdings and increased $36.6 million at NW Natural. The significant factors contributing to the increase at NW Holdings were as follows:

•$30.6 million decrease in asset optimization revenue sharing bill credits to customers;

•$22.2 million decrease in inventories due to a larger volume of gas withdrawn from storage; and

•$15.4 million increase in net income; partially offset by

•$31.3 million decrease in accounts payable resulting from payments of higher priced gas purchased in December 2022; and

•$23.0 million decrease in net deferred gas costs as gas costs for the three months ended March 31, 2022 were 13% below PGA estimates.

The increase in cash provided by operating activities at NW Natural was primarily driven by the factors discussed above.

NW Natural did not make any cash contributions to its qualified defined benefit pension plans during the three months ended March 31, 2023 or 2022. NW Natural does not expect to make any plan contributions during 2023. The amount and timing of future contributions will depend on market interest rates and investment returns on the plans' assets. For additional information, see Note 10.

NW Holdings and NW Natural have lease and purchase commitments relating to their operating activities that are financed with cash flows from operations. For information on cash flow requirements related to leases and other purchase commitments, see Note 7 and Note 16 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

Investing Activities


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		YTD Change
NW Natural cash used in investing activities	$	(64,882)	$	(65,553)	$	671
NW Holdings cash used in investing activities	$	(73,018)	$	(69,750)	$	(3,268)

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Cash used in investing activities increased $3.3 million at NW Holdings and decreased $0.7 million at NW Natural. The increase in cash used in investing activities at NW Holdings was primarily due to an increase of $2.8 million in capital expenditures related to water and wastewater businesses.

NW Natural capital expenditures for 2023 are expected to be in the range of $310 million to $350 million and for the five-year period from 2023 to 2027 are expected to range from $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion. NW Natural Water is expected to invest approximately $25 million in 2023 related to maintenance capital expenditures for water and wastewater utilities owned as of December 31, 2022, and for the five-year period from 2023 to 2027 capital expenditures are expected to invest approximately $90 million to $110 million.

The timing and amount of the core capital expenditures and projects for 2023 and the next five years could change based on regulation, growth, and cost estimates. Additional investments in our infrastructure during and after 2023 that are not incorporated in the estimates provided above will depend largely on additional regulations, growth, and expansion opportunities. Required funds for the investments are expected to be internally generated or financed with long-term debt or equity, as appropriate.

Financing Activities


	Three Months Ended March 31,
In thousands	2023		2022		YTD Change
NW Natural cash provided by (used in) financing activities	$	10,284	$	(72,026)	$	82,310



NW Holdings cash provided by (used in) financing activities	$	11,187	$	(62,764)	$	73,951

THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2023 COMPARED TO MARCH 31, 2022. Cash provided by financing activities increased $74.0 million and $82.3 million at NW Holdings and NW Natural, respectively. The increase at NW Holdings and NW Natural was attributable to proceeds from the issuance of long-term debt of $200.0 million, partially offset by changes in short-term debt.

Contingent Liabilities

Loss contingencies are recorded as liabilities when it is probable a liability has been incurred and the amount of the loss is reasonably estimable in accordance with accounting standards for contingencies. See “Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates” in the 2022 Form 10-K. At March 31, 2023, NW Natural's total estimated liability related to environmental sites is $114.3 million. See "Results of Operations—Regulatory Matters—Rate Mechanisms—Environmental Costs" in the 2022 Form 10-K and Note 16.

APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

In preparing financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, management exercises judgment to assess the potential outcomes and related accounting impacts in the selection and application of accounting principles, including making estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, and related disclosures in the financial statements. Management considers critical accounting policies to be those which are most important to the representation of financial condition and results of operations and which require management’s most difficult and subjective or complex judgments, including accounting estimates that could result in materially different amounts if reported under different conditions or if they used different assumptions. Our most critical estimates and judgments for both NW Holdings and NW Natural include accounting for:

•regulatory accounting;

•revenue recognition;

•derivative instruments and hedging activities;

•pensions and postretirement benefits;

•income taxes;

•environmental contingencies; and

•impairment of long-lived assets and goodwill.

There have been no material changes to the information provided in the 2022 Form 10-K with respect to the application of critical accounting policies and estimates. See Part II, Item 7, "Application of Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates," in the 2022 Form 10-K.

Management has discussed its current estimates and judgments used in the application of critical accounting policies with the Audit Committees of the Boards of NW Holdings and NW Natural. Within the context of critical accounting policies and estimates, management is not aware of any reasonably likely events or circumstances that would result in materially different amounts being reported. For a description of recent accounting pronouncements that could have an impact on financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, see Note 2.

ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

NW Holdings and NW Natural are exposed to various forms of market risk including commodity supply risk, commodity price risk, interest rate risk, foreign currency risk, credit risk and weather risk. Management monitors and manages these financial exposures as an integral part of NW Holdings' and NW Natural's overall risk management program. No material changes have occurred related to disclosures about market risk for the three months ended March 31, 2023. For additional information, see Part II, Item 1A, “Risk Factors” in this report and Part II, Item 7A, “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” in the 2022 Form 10-K.

ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

NW Holdings and NW Natural management, under the supervision and with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, completed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)). Based upon this evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of each registrant have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this report, disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by each such registrant and included in reports filed or submitted under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC rules and forms and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management of each registrant, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

(b) Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

NW Holdings and NW Natural management are responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f).

There were no changes in NW Holdings' or NW Natural's internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended March 31, 2023, that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, internal control over financial reporting for NW Holdings and NW Natural. The statements contained in Exhibit 31.1, Exhibit 31.2, Exhibit 31.3, and Exhibit 31.4 should be considered in light of, and read together with, the information set forth in this Item 4(b).

PART II. OTHER INFORMATION

ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Other than the proceedings disclosed in Note 16 and those proceedings disclosed and incorporated by reference in Part I, Item 3, “Legal Proceedings” in the 2022 Form 10-K, we have only nonmaterial litigation, or litigation that occurs in the ordinary course of our business.

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

There were no material changes from the risk factors discussed in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors” in the 2022 Form 10-K. In addition to the other information set forth in this report, you should carefully consider those risk factors, which could materially affect our business, financial condition, or results of operations.

ITEM 2. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

The following table provides information about purchases of NW Holdings' equity securities that are registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, during the quarter ended March 31, 2023:


Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Period	Total Number of Shares Purchased(1)	Average Price Paid per Share		Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs(2)	Maximum Dollar Value of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs(2)
Balance forward				2,124,528	$	16,732,648
01/01/23-01/31/23	—	—		—	—
02/01/23-02/28/23	—	—		—	—
03/01/23-03/31/23	—	—		—	—
Total	—	$	—	2,124,528	$	16,732,648

(1)During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, no shares of common stock were purchased on the open market to meet the requirements of NW Holdings' Dividend Reinvestment and Direct Stock Purchase Plan. During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, no shares of NW Holdings common stock were purchased on the open market to meet the requirements of share-based compensation programs.

(2)During the quarter ended March 31, 2023, no shares of NW Holdings common stock were repurchased pursuant to the Board-approved share repurchase program. Effective August 3, 2022, we received NW Holdings Board approval to extend the repurchase program. Such authorization will continue until the program is used, terminated or replaced. For more information on this program, refer to Note 5 in the 2022 Form 10-K.

ITEM 6. EXHIBITS

See the Exhibit Index below, which is incorporated by reference herein.

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

Exhibit Index to Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q

For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2023


Exhibit Index
Exhibit Number			Document
31.1			Certification of Principal Executive Officer of Northwest Natural Gas Company Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15-d-14(a), Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.2			Certification of Principal Financial Officer of Northwest Natural Gas Company Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15-d-14(a), Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.3			Certification of Principal Executive Officer of Northwest Natural Holding Company Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15-d-14(a), Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

31.4			Certification of Principal Financial Officer of Northwest Natural Holding Company Pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15-d-14(a), Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

*32.1			Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of Northwest Natural Gas Company Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

*32.2			Certification of Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer of Northwest Natural Holding Company Pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

101			The following materials formatted in Inline Extensible Business Reporting Language (Inline XBRL): (i) Consolidated Statements of Income; (ii) Consolidated Balance Sheets; (iii) Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows; and (iv) Related notes. The instance document does not appear in the interactive data file because XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document.

104			The cover page from the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, formatted in Inline XBRL.

* Pursuant to Item 601(b)(32)(ii) of Regulation S-K, this certification is furnished and not filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized. The signature for each undersigned company shall be deemed to relate only to matters having reference to such company and its subsidiaries.

NORTHWEST NATURAL GAS COMPANY

(Registrant)


Dated:	May 4, 2023
		/s/ Brody J. Wilson
		Brody J. Wilson
		Principal Accounting Officer Vice President, Treasurer, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller

NORTHWEST NATURAL HOLDING COMPANY

(Registrant)


Dated:	May 4, 2023
		/s/ Brody J. Wilson
		Brody J. Wilson
		Principal Accounting Officer Vice President, Treasurer, Chief Accounting Officer and Controller