Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Parentheticals) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Amortization of non-qualified employee benefit plan liability, tax	$ 41	$ 56	$ 82	$ 111
Northwest Natural Gas Company [Member]
Amortization of non-qualified employee benefit plan liability, tax	$ 41	$ 56	$ 82	$ 111

Amount of tax (expense) benefit of reclassification adjustment from accumulated other comprehensive (income) loss for prior service cost (credit) of defined benefit plan.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 12
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=114867106&loc=d3e640-108580

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Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration