IRP - Strategically planning for use and development of energy resources

Energy Planning

NW Natural's Integrated Resource Plan

At NW Natural, we have a responsibility to meet our customers' current and future energy needs, reliably and affordably. Every few years, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) team develops a plan that best meets our customers' forecasted long-term energy requirements with the goal of minimizing the combination of costs and risks for NW Natural customers. This robust planning process evaluates many factors including but not limited to the following:

Environmental policies
Customer growth
Consumption trends
Demand-side resources such as energy efficiency and demand response
Supply-side resources such as storage options
Compliance resources such as renewable natural gas and allowances

Our IRP is developed through a process open to the public and informed by feedback from interested parties. The culmination of the IRP process is a strategic roadmap for managing energy resources to meet current and future energy needs while maintaining reliability, safety, and affordability. Regulatory oversight comes from the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) and Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) in Oregon and Washington, respectively.

NW Natural filed its 2025 IRP in Oregon and Washington on August 1, 2025. Copies of this plan and associated working group materials can be found at this link.

NW Natural has begun planning for its 2027 IRP and will file a Work Plan with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission at the end of July 2026.

Contact us

Please feel free to get in touch with us with questions about the IRP, to be added to our stakeholder distribution list, or to connect on other topics related to the IRP and its development. You may also use this email for any accessibility requests.

Join Us for the NW Natural Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) Open House

This hybrid event is designed to provide an overview of NW Natural and our Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) process, while creating an opportunity to connect with IRP team members and fellow stakeholders.

In-person attendees will have the opportunity to tour the facility from 5:10 to 5:30 p.m. The presentation will begin promptly at 5:30 p.m.

Event Details:

Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Time: 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

Location:

In-person: NW Natural's Clark County Operations Center

11218 NE 66th St, Building A; Vancouver, WA 98662

Virtual: Meeting link will be shared 24 hours before the event.

Facility tour: NW Natural is a secure operational facility. All tour attendees will be required to check in with our security team.

Accessibility: NW Natural facilities are ADA compliant. If you require additional accessibility accommodations, please include your request when submitting your RSVP.

Refreshments: Coffee and tea to be provided.

RSVP: Please confirm your attendance by October 19 and indicate whether you plan to attend in person or virtually by emailing IRP@nwnatural.com.

2027 Working groups and public meetings

Meetings and working groups will be posted here when they are scheduled.

Stakeholder feedback

NW Natural requests stakeholders provide feedback within two weeks after the conclusion of each Technical Working Group meeting and/or stakeholder workshop. Comments can be input using the form accessed through the link below. This link will be made active at a later date.

2027 IRP Stakeholder Feedback Form*
*Please be aware this link, when active, will direct you to a different web site and should open in a new tab.

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