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July 2006 - Mayor Janet Taylor and members of the Salem (Ore.) City Council have proclaimed the month of July as Green Power Month and challenged city residents to sign up for renewable energy to power their homes and businesses. Through the challenge, the city is encouraging residents to participate in one of the voluntary renewable power programs operated by Portland General Electric, with the goal of increasing the city's green power participation by 25%—from 2,500 to 3,000 total customers—by the end of November.
News Article - Salem City Council Proclaims July as Green Power Month
December 2005 - Portland General Electric (PGE) reported that 40,000 customers, representing more than 5% of its total customer base, are now purchasing one of three green power products offered through the utility. PGE is the largest utility in the United States to reach the 5% customer participation threshold. PGE customers can choose to purchase renewable energy to meet 100% of their monthly electricity needs for as little as 0.8¢/kWh on top of the regular electricity rate. The utility attributes its program success to "an effective information and marketing effort" combined with "customers' strong support for the environment."
News Release - PGE customers ring in the new year with green power achievements
News Article - Northwest power consumers going 'green'
August 2004 - Portland General Electric (PGE) announced that its green power program has reached a major milestone: 30,000 of the utility's customers are now purchasing renewable electricity, which ranks among the top utility programs in the nation for number of customer participants. To commemorate the milestone, PGE designated a part of inner southeast Portland with the highest concentration of renewable power purchasers as the "Greenest Neighborhood." One out of every seven customers in this area has purchased a renewable power product, representing more than four times the program participation average.
News Release - "Greenest Neighborhood" Declared to Celebrate PGE Customer Milestone
September 2003 - Portland General Electric (PGE) announced that it has once again selected Green Mountain Energy Company as its primary supplier of renewable energy products and green power marketing affiliate. The new contract will run through the end of 2006.
PGE customers have access to three different green power products: PGE Renewable Usage, which is a 100% renewable power option from Green Mountain and includes new wind resources located in the Pacific Northwest; PGE Salmon Friendly Plan, which adds a contribution for salmon restoration to the 100% renewables product; and PGE Clean Wind, which allows customers to pay a fixed amount for wind power from the Pacific Northwest. PGE will begin a new customer education and information campaign about the program later this year.
News Release - PGE Chooses Green Mountain Energy Company as Renewable Power Supplier
PGE Contact: Thor Hinckley (503) 464-8089
Green Mountain Contact: John Savage (512) 691-6140
June 2003 - Oregon's two investor-owned utilities, Portland General Electric (PGE) and PacifiCorp, have issued requests for proposals (RFPs) to provide tradable renewable credits and retail marketing services for their respective green pricing programs. The RFPs cover the Blended Renewable and Environmental Mitigation portfolio options that each utility offers to its residential and small commercial customers, and that are currently supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company. Each utility also offers customers its own wind-based product option.
The new three-year contracts will become effective on January 1, 2004. Proposals are due to the two utilities on July 3, 2003.
Additional Information - PGE Request for Proposals (PDF 200 KB) Download Acrobat Reader
Additional Information - PacifiCorp Request for Proposals
PGE Contact: Thor Hinckley (503) 464 8089
PacifiCorp Contact: Ken Dragoon (503) 813-5326
February 2003 - For the Sake of the Salmon (4SOS), a Portland, Oregon-based non-profit organization, announced seven new salmon habitat restoration projects in Oregon resulting from the support provided by more than 6,000 customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric (PGE). In choosing the Salmon-Friendly renewable energy option, which is administered by Green Mountain Energy Company, customers make a monthly contribution through their electricity bill to the Pacific Salmon Watershed Fund. The contributions directly fund projects that restore habitat for threatened fish. The seven new projects will receive matching funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Community-Based Restoration Program and in-kind support from other local organizations.
News Release - Salmon Habitat Projects Reap Rewards of Renewable Power Option
4SOS Contact: Betsy Kauffman (503) 223-8511
February 2003 - Portland General Electric (PGE) announced a new, lower-cost renewable energy option for medium and large-sized businesses. Any customer that uses more than 30 kilowatts can now purchase 100% wind power from the utility at an additional cost of 1.7¢/kWh, with a minimum purchase requirement of 1,000 kWh per month. The wind power premium is half the level charged in an earlier program offered by the utility. Smaller businesses are already eligible for a variety of green power products offered by the utility under Oregon's electricity industry restructuring law.
Local companies that have already committed to purchase the Clean Wind product include Nike, Inc. and Epson Portland Inc. These and other companies purchasing the green power product will receive marketing support from PGE ranging from window decals to promotion in utility advertisements.
News Release - Medium-Large Businesses Go Green with PGE Clean Wind Power
PGE Contact: Thor Hinckley, (503) 464-8089
November 2002 - Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power announced that customer sign-ups for green power products offered through the two utilities have more than tripled in just nine months. The jump came after the utilities began offering additional green power options, including renewable electricity supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company, in accordance with Oregon's electricity restructuring law. Total customer participation at the end of October stood at 29,171 total customers (28,518 residential customers and 653 small businesses) compared to about 8,200 total customers at the end of 2001.
News Release - Oregonians Make Local Renewable Energy Program One of Fastest Growing In the Country
March 2002 - In just two months, more than 7,000 residential and small business customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric (PGE) have signed up for green power. Customers of the two Oregon-based utilities can choose among three renewable energy options: a wind power option, a renewable energy blend, and a salmon-friendly product. About three-quarters of the customers who have subscribed since January have chosen one of the latter two products, which are offered by Green Mountain Energy Company in cooperation with the two utilities.
In addition, Seattle City Light has subscribed more than 1,200 customers just seven weeks after launching its green power program. The utility is signing up customers at a rate of about 40 per day, surpassing the city's expectations. Under Seattle's Green Power program, residential and business customers can contribute funds to support local renewable energy projects.
News Release - Governor Kitzhaber Proclaims March 1 'Renewable Energy Day', Celebrating New Pollution-Free Power Options and First Day of Energy Restructuring
News Release - Signups For Seattle Green Power Program Surpass 1,200 Mark
January 2002 - Beginning March 1, the 1.2 million electricity customers served by Oregon's investor-owned utilities (IOUs) will gain three new green power options. The state's electricity restructuring law requires the IOUs to offer a portfolio of service options to residential and commercial customers. Customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power will have access to the following renewable energy options:
New Wind Energy - Customers can choose to buy fixed blocks of new wind generation each month through PGE's Clean Wind program or Pacific Power's Blue Sky program. Pacific Power customers will pay an additional $2.95 monthly for each 100-kWh block purchased while each 100-kWh block will cost PGE customers $3.50 more per month.
Renewable Energy Blend - Customers can purchase 100% of their actual electricity usage from wind and geothermal sources supplied by Green Mountain Energy Company. Pacific Power customers will pay 0.78¢/kWh more for this option, while PGE customers will pay 0.80¢/kWh more.
Renewable Energy and Habitat Restoration - Customers can purchase 100% of their electricity from renewable sources and also help restore native fish habitat. The power will come from Green Mountain Energy Company and the habitat restoration funds will be managed by For the Sake of the Salmon, a nonprofit conservation group. For this option, Pacific Power customers will pay the Renewable Energy Blend rate of 0.78¢/kWh plus a fixed $2.50 per month that will be applied to salmon restoration projects, while PGE customers will pay a premium of 0.99¢/kWh.
News Release - Enrollment for New Renewable Energy Options to Begin Today; PGE and Pacific Power Customers Can Choose 100% 'Green' Power for First Time
News Release - Environmental and Market-Based Options for Portland General Electric and Pacific Power Customers
May 2001 - PacifiCorp and Portland General Electric (PGE) announced that the Port of Portland (Oregon), which owns and maintains five marine terminals, four airports, and seven business parks, will obtain about 1% of its electricity needs from renewable resources through the two utilities' green pricing programs. The Port will purchase a total of 6.3 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually through Pacificorp's BlueSky program and PGE's Clean Wind and Salmon-Friendly Power programs. The bulk of the purchase will support the development of new wind resources.
News Release - Port of Portland Commits to Renewable Energy and Meets Regional Clean Energy Challenge
News Release - Port of Portland Purchases Green Power
PGE Contact: Mark Fryburg (503) 464-8444
RNP Contact: Diane Zipper (503) 223-4544
March 2001 - The Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) approved new energy portfolio options, including green power, that will be available to residential and small nonresidential customers of the state's two large investor-owned utilities beginning this fall. Under Oregon's 1999 restructuring law, Portland General Electric (PGE) and PacifiCorp are required to provide a market-based rate option and at least one renewable energy option.
The OPUC approved three types of renewable energy options, which essentially correspond to green power products already being offered by the two utilities. The first option is a renewable resources block product, which allows customers to buy one or more blocks of renewable power each month. The second option is a blended renewable energy product containing a minimum of 50% renewable energy with at least 15% coming from new renewable sources; the remaining product content must meet regional system average emissions as well as the state's siting standard for carbon dioxide emissions. The final option is an "environmental mitigation product," which allows customers to purchase blocks of power from renewable sources that will help restore threatened or endangered fish species.
The PUC plans to set rates for the new product options this summer. Consumers will receive enrollment packages in August and will be able to switch to one of the alternative service options starting in October.
News Release - Commission Expands Energy Choices for Consumers - No longer online at www.puc.state.or.us
News Article - PUC tells utilities to offer price plans (The Oregonian)
PUC Contact: Bob Valdez (503) 378-8962
November 1999 - Portland General Electric (PGE) is now offering customers two green power options. In December, Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) approved PGE's plan to give residential customers the option of purchasing up to two 100-kWh blocks of "salmon friendly" power or wind power, or a combination of the two, at a premium of $5 per block per month. The two-block option would supply about 20% of an average residential customer's load.
The salmon-friendly power is a blend of existing, low-impact hydro and wind power. The revenue from the power sales will be split evenly between paying the cost of the power and supporting local salmon habitat recovery projects. The wind power option offers power generated from the Vansycle Ridge wind farm in northeastern Oregon, with half of the revenues to be used for the development of new wind resources. Commercial and industrial customers can purchase a limited amount of green power, depending on their size, at the same rate as residential customers.
Under the state's recently enacted electricity restructuring law, PGE is required to offer its residential customers a portfolio of rate options, including a green power option.
News Article - Portland General Electric to Propose Salmon-Friendly Power Tariff
March 1998 - Portland General Electric (PGE) has developed a new energy label to help consumers compare power suppliers' generation sources and provide information on emissions from different generation sources. All electricity suppliers that are certified to sell power under PGE's Customer Choice Program are required to use this label. Currently, PGE is offering 50,000 residences and businesses in four area communities the opportunity to choose their electricity provider. All large commercial and industrial customers are able to buy as much as 50% of their electricity from competing providers. PGE expects the program to "deliver competitive prices and innovative products, such as the opportunity to buy electricity generated solely from renewable resources."
To date, the Oregon PUC has certified thirteen energy service providers, including Avista Energy, Inc., Duke Energy Trading & Marketing, L.L.C., Electric Lite, Inc., Enron Power Marketing, Inc., Illinova Energy Partners, PacifiCorp, Edison International, and PG&E Energy Services. Of the energy suppliers, only Electric Lite has formally announced a green power offering.
News Release - PGE Introduces a New Environmental Consumer Label to Help Customers with Electricity Choices - No longer online at PortlandGeneral.com
March 1997 - Portland General Electric (PGE) has developed a special tariff for a blend of green and conventional power that is being marketed to large wholesale and industrial customers. Two wind projects that PGE has contracted for will supply the renewable power: 12.5-MW Columbia Hills project and a 25-MW Vansycle Ridge project. Thus far, the City of Portland has signed a contract to purchase 11.2 million kWh of green power during a five-year period. This amounts to approximately 5% of the City of Portland's total power consumption.
In September 1996, PGE filed with the Oregon Public Utility Commission to implement an experimental, optional, market-based renewable energy service for large industrial and commercial customers. Resources covered include wind, solar, and geothermal energy. Participating customers would pay a price premium of about 1 cent/kWh. PGE plans to make 5 average MW available under the program. The proposal was approved on November 26, 1996.
PGE Contact: Rick Weijo (503) 464-8389 or Doug Kuns (503) 464-7891
PUC Contact: Bill McNamee (503) 378-6360
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