Portland, OR-based NW Natural finessed its natural gas supply and storage operations to avoid excessive extra costs during February, which helped lift first quarter profits by more than 20%, the CEO said last week.

“During a widespread freeze in Oregon in February, our teams successfully managed gas operations to mitigate impacts on customers,” CEO David Anderson said during the quarterly call. “Additionally, through a third party we were able to optimize our supply portfolio, capturing asset management revenues. While many areas of the country will experience significantly elevated bills, our customers will fare quite well.”

Oregon’s freeze coincided with Winter Storm Uri, which affected Texas and the Midcontinent . While NW Natural’s utility system performed well...