Natural gas is the fuel of choice for the overwhelming majority of new home buyers.
Because of its relative price advantage, its comforting warmth, the quick water heating capacity and reliability of natural gas during power outages, more than 90 percent of new houses in the Northwest are equipped with natural gas. But NW Natural's service area holds many opportunities to expand the use of natural gas for space and water heating, thereby reducing reliance on electricity. Grant Yoshihara, NW Natural's General Manager of Market Development, said the Pacific Northwest is the last region in the nation where electricity is still widely used for space and water heating, cooking and clothes drying even though natural gas is readily available. Inexpensive, publicly-owned hydropower from the Columbia River system made electricity competitive for many years. We know we can't have it all anymore - cheap, abundant electricity and healthy wildlife habitat.