Oct. 1, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The Board of Directors of Northwest Natural Gas Company (NYSE:NWN), dba NW Natural, has increased the quarterly dividend on the company's common stock to 41.5 cents from 39.5 cents per share, an increase of 5 percent. The dividends will be paid Nov. 13, 2009, to shareholders of record on Oct. 30, 2009.

NW Natural will have paid $1.60 per share in dividends on its common stock in 2009, the 54th consecutive year in which the company's dividend payments have increased. The indicated annual dividend rate is now $1.66 per share.

About NW Natural

NW Natural is headquartered in Portland, Ore., and served more than 662,000 residential and business customers in Oregon and southwest Washington at the end of the company’s second quarter on June 30th. It is the largest independent natural gas utility in the Pacific Northwest, and recognized its 150th year as a company on Jan. 7, 2009. The company has approximately $2.2 billion in total assets, which includes approximately 16 Bcf of underground gas storage capacity within its service territory at Mist, Ore. The company has rate mechanisms in place that help to protect revenues from warmer than average weather and declining consumption. As noted, NW Natural has increased its dividends paid on common stock for 54 consecutive years.