Portland General Electric
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| NYSE: POR | |
| Industry | Electricity |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon, United States |
| Revenue | $1.9 billion (2014) |
| $293 million (2014) | |
| $175 million (2014) | |
Number of employees | 2,600 (2014) |
| Website | portlandgeneral |
| Footnotes / references Financial data.[1] | |
Portland General Electric (PGE) is an electrical utility based in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill,Washington, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of Oregon. PGE serves most of Portland, with a just 44,000 customers in the northeast quadrant being served by Pacific Power.
Founded in 1888 as the Willamette Falls Electric Company, the company has been an independent company for most of its existence, though was briefly owned by the Houston-based Enron Corporation from 1997 until 2006 when Enron divested itself of PGE during its bankruptcy.
PGE generates electricity from plants they own, as well as power purchases on the wholesale market. They operate wholly and jointly owned hydroelectric, natural gas, coal, wind and solar generating plants. In 2014, sources of electricity included 32% of purchased power, 24% coal, 18% hydroelectric, 18% natural gas, 8% wind and solar. Between 1976 and 1993, PGE operated Trojan, the only nuclear power plant in Oregon which was the subject of three Oregon failed initiatives to shut it down. The company elected to close the plant twenty years early.
Corporate officers
PGE currently has 11 corporate officers, who include James J. Piro (CEO and president).
History
The utility was founded in 1888 by Parker F. Morey and Edward L. Eastham as Willamette Falls Electric Company. On June 3, 1889 it sent power generated by one of four brush arc light dynamos at Willamette Falls over a 14-mile electric power transmission line to Portland, the first US power plant to do so.[2][3][4] On August 6, 1892, Morey, Frederick Van Voorhies Holman, and Henry Failing formed the Portland General Electric Company.[2] It was funded by General Electric and the investment arm of Old Colony Trust, with $4.25 million in capital.[2] PGE purchased Willamette Falls Electric in 1892.[2]
In May 1893, Willamette Falls Electric Company purchased the City-Eastside Electric Light Plant, a municipal power company.[2]
The company also purchased the 1891 Union Power Company in 1905, the 1889 Albina Light & Water Company in 1892, and the 1892 Vancouver Electric Light & Power Company in 1906.[2] PGE, Portland Railway Company, and Oregon Water Power & Railway Company merged in 1906, becoming the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P).[2] It was the only streetcar operator in city limits, and was the predecessor of the modern PGE.[2]
Willamette Falls Electric changed its name several times before settling on Portland Electric Power Company (PEPCO) in 1932.
On March 1, 1939, the PEPCO defaulted on interest bonds issued in March 1934.[5] The bonds were pledged with PGE (the electric subsidiary) and Portland Traction Company (PTC, streetcar subsidiary) as collateral, with Guaranty Trust as trustee.[5] PEPCO filed for bankruptcy on April 3, 1939, and was assigned District Judge James Alger Fee.[5] The proceedings were later called "one of the most prolonged and complicated series of legal proceedings in Portland's history".[5]
The reorganization and bond default was brought on by the company's difficult negotiations with Bonneville Power Administration, the death of Seattle City Light's visionary J. D. Ross, and the indecision created by the possible creation of a public utility district in PGE's territory.[5]
PGE survived from bankruptcy through cheap power purchases from BPA beginning in the fall of 1939, net profits by the end of 1941 and selling Portland Traction in August 1946 for $8 million in cash.[5] In the meantime, Ormond R. Bean, the Oregon Public Utility Commissioner, forced PGE to lower its rates.[5] Ultimately, PEPCO and PGE were saved by World War II, which led to the construction of three Kaiser Shipyards and of Vanport City, Oregon to support them.[5] By 1945, PGE derived nearly $400,000 in revenue from the two Kaiser shipyards in Oregon.[5]
Judge Fee ruled the bankruptcy reorganization complete on June 29, 1946.[5]
Portland Electric Power was reorganized as PGE in 1948.
On July 1, 1997, Enron Corporation bought PGE for $2 billion in stock and $1.1 billion in assumed debt. Then in 1999, and again in 2001, Enron attempted to sell PGE.[6] The corporate officers of PGE claimed that this utility was not involved in the financial misdealings of its owner, pointing to the fact that many of its employees suffered when Enron froze the 401(k) retirement plan and were unable to sell the rapidly declining stock. However, Ken Harrison and Joseph Hirko, PGE's CEO and CFO respectively at the time of the Enron merger were charged on several felony level counts primarily related to financial misrepresentation regarding Enron Broadband Services which had its headquarters within the World Trade Center complex that comprises PGE's corporate offices. In addition Tim Belden, head of the West Coast Trading Desk and John Forney, an energy trader who invented various electricity trading strategies such as the Death Star, operated from the trading floor in the PGE corporate offices and were also convicted of financial crimes related to the California Electricity Crisis.
Attempted acquisition by Texas Pacific Group
Concerned by uncertainty that the Enron bankruptcy would bring, several local governments began investigation of acquiring PGE by condemnation. These studies were ended after the announcement on November 17, 2003 that a group called Oregon Electric Utility, led by former governor Neil Goldschmidt and backed by Texas Pacific Group, offered to buy PGE for $2.35 billion. This was the sole bid received by the bankruptcy judge, who approved the bid. This purchase offer was denied by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, a three-member regulatory board, on March 10, 2005.
Discomfort over the Texas Pacific purchase led to a number of voter initiatives to convert parts of PGE into PUDs. PGE defeated measures in Multnomah County (November 14, 2003), Yamhill County (March, 2004), and Clackamas County (May 18, 2004).
With the rejection of the Texas Pacific Group's offer, the City of Portland announced it contacted Enron to resume negotiating an offer to purchase PGE. On April 19, 2005, Portland city officials announced that they were willing to spend 7.5 million in attorneys' fees to buy the utility. On July 6, the City Council unanimously adopted a measure to finance the acquisition of PGE by the sale of $3 billion in bonds.
However, Enron interim CEO Stephen Cooper called off negotiations on July 20, 2005. He explained that he did not "see a plausible solution under which our teams could reach an agreement that would lead to a transaction closing in a timely fashion".[7] Cooper addressed several causes for the termination, including the refusal of the city to pay a $50 million deposit on the sale.[8] The same day, Governor Ted Kulongoski vetoed a bill that would create a public corporation to purchase PGE.
Independence from Enron
In April, 2006, shares in a newly independent PGE were issued as part of an Enron distribution to its creditors.[9] PGE common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol POR.
Power plants
Thermal power plants
PGE has implemented an operating plan for their Boardman Plant, often called the Boardman 2020 plan, under which PGE has installed new emissions controls at the plant and agreed to end the use of coal there by Dec. 31, 2020.
- Boardman generating plant (coal) - 581 MWe - located in Boardman, Oregon.
- Colstrip Coal - 296 MWe - located in Colstrip, Montana.
PGE owns several natural gas-fired power plants. The newest is Port Westward Unit 2, designed to help meet real-time fluctuations in customer demand, integrate variable resources like wind and solar, and serve as a peaking resource during periods of high demand, helping maintain system reliability, began serving customers in late 2014.
- Beaver Generating Plant - 516 MWe - located on the northern border of Oregon. The facility consists of 6 turbine generators that exhaust to heat recovery steam generators.
- Coyote Springs Generating Plant - 248 MWe - located in Boardman, Oregon; began operating in 1995. Coyote Springs is a combined cycle cogeneration plant.
- Port Westward High Efficiency Gas Power Plant located next to the Beaver plant with 401 MWe capacity (commercial operations started in 2007). Has since won awards for innovation.
- Port Westward Unit 2 – 224 MWe adjacent to PGE’s Port Westward and Beaver plants in Clatskanie, Ore.
PGE is also building another natural gas-fired plant near Boardman, Ore. The Carty Generating Station is a 440-megawatt plant scheduled to be online in 2016. Learn more about the Carty Generating Station.
Hydroelectric plants
PGE owns five hydroelectric plants, on the Clackamas and Willamette Rivers, and co-owns two more on the Deschutes River. All have been upgraded with the latest technology to protect migratory fish.
- Bull Run (Sandy and Little Sandy rivers) - 22 MWe (decommissioned, 2007)
- Faraday (Clackamas River) - 46 MWe
- North Fork (Clackamas River) - 58 MWe
- Oak Grove (Clackamas River) - 44 MWe
- Pelton Dam (Deschutes River) - 73 MWe
- River Mill Hydroelectric Project (Clackamas River) - 25 MWe
- Round Butte Dam (Deschutes River) - 230 MWe
- Sullivan (Willamette River) - 18 MWe
Grand Total: 3,414 MWe
Other/Renewable
PGE owns two wind farms, Tucannon River Wind Farm, near Dayton, Wash., and Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, near Wasco, Ore. These projects and help PGE meet the State of Oregon’s Renewable Energy Standard, which requires that PGE supply 25 percent of its electricity from qualifying renewable sources by 2025.
- Biglow Canyon Wind Farm - generating capacity of 450 MW
- Tucannon River Wind Farm – net generating capacity 267 MW
- Marion County Waste-to-Energy Facility - 13MW from municipal garbage incineration
Renewable energy sales
In 2015, the utility ranked #1 in nationwide sales of renewable energy to customers according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.[10][11][12]
Vehicle charging stations
PGE actively supports customers who choose electricity as their transportation fuel. From 2012-2015, as part of the “Oregon EV Highway” pilot project, PGE installed more than a dozen electric car quick chargers and accompanying Level 2 chargers along Interstate 5, Interstate 205 and related arterials within the PGE service area. The project was primarily funded with equipment and installation allowances from the Federal EV Project.
The project completed the Oregon section of the West Coast Electric Highway, a joint initiative of the Governors of California, Oregon and Washington and the Premier of British Columbia. The Oregon Department of Transportation installed EV quick charging in the southern and central sections of I-5, and PGE took on the northern section. The first PGE quick charger was installed at the Elmer’s Restaurant in Woodburn in 2012. Other locations in the pilot included the Oregon State Capitol building, Electric Avenue in downtown Portland and several Fred Meyer stores in Portland and Salem. After the pilot successfully demonstrated the need and usefulness of high-speed EV charging along interstate highways, the operation of the chargers was turned over to a private company at the end of 2015.
PGE is continuing to support transportation by electrifying the PGE fleet of vehicles, including electric bucket trucks, vans and passenger cars.
See also
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ a b c d e f g h MacColl, E. Kimbark (1976). The Shaping of a City: Business and Politics in Portland, Oregon 1885 to 1915. Portland, Oregon: The Georgian Press Company. OCLC 2645815.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Home Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation. "A New River of Current:The Story of Station A and the dawn of Electric Power Transmission". Home Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ^ Madrigal, Alexis (June 3, 2010). "June 3, 1889: Power Flows Long-Distance". Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j MacColl, E. Kimbark (1979). The Growth of a City: Power and Politics in Portland, Oregon 1915 to 1950. Portland, Oregon: The Georgian Press. ISBN 0-9603408-1-5.
- ^ Hill, Gail Kinsey. NW Natural, PGE deal called off. The Oregonian, May 17, 2002.
- ^ "Sign in to OregonLive.com". The Oregonian.
- ^ Enron says no to PGE deal
- ^ "Enron Sets Portland General Free". 4/3/2006. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2009-04-13). "NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010-05-03). "NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
- ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2011-05-09). "NREL Highlights 2010 Utility Green Power Leaders". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
External links
