NW Natural Portland, Oregon NW Natural and its predecessors have been fueling the growth of greater Portland for nearly 140 years. In Texas, natural gas markets remained very competitive throughout 1998. The capability to physically deliver natural gas anywhere in North America is an important part of our national energy strategy. Our Northwest pipeline transported nearly 915 billion cubic feet of natural gas in 1998. California is the primary market for our Northwest pipeline, and it is a state that continues to outperform the United States as a whole in terms of growth and power demands.
Energy trading is a cornerstone of our integrated service approach.
These new products give consumers and suppliers choices never available from energy providers in the past. Our list of retail customers includes some of the top names in business today. We enhance our customers' bottom line by lowering consumption through energy-efficiency measures, by delivering competitive commodity prices, and by reducing the risk of costly production losses due to power disruptions. The growth we accomplished in 1998, along with the profits we generated for shareholders, demonstrate that our unregulated subsidiaries will be able to build on that strategy well into the next century. Profits and progress today, a wealth of opportunities for tomorrow.