Appreciates

Showing Wall Street appreciates steady-state natural gas utilities, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) Tuesday increased the credit rating of Portland, OR-based Northwest Natural Gas Co. to “A+” for both its corporate and senior secured debt ratings, and almost as high for its other ratings. All of the levels were raised and the outlook was designated as “stable,” S&P’s San Francisco analyst Swami Venkataraman said.