Portland General Electric

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Not to be confused with Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).
Portland General Electric Company
Company typePublic company
IndustryPublic utility
Founded1888; 136 years ago (1888)
HeadquartersPortland, Oregon, U.S.
ProductsElectric power
RevenueUS$1.9 billion (2015)[1]
US$0.3 billion (2015)[1]
US$0.2 billion (2015)[1]
Total assetsIncrease US$7.2 billion (2015)[1]
Total equityIncrease US$2.3 billion (2015)[1]
Number of employees
2,646 (2016)[2]
Websiteportlandgeneral.com

Portland General Electric (PGE) is a

Houston-based Enron Corporation
from 1997 until 2006 when Enron divested itself of PGE during its bankruptcy.

Notably, PGE does not serve all of Portland. Its service territory comprises most of Portland west of the Willamette River, sharing most of the city east of the river with Pacific Power.

PGE produces and purchases energy primarily from coal and natural gas plants, as well as

Deschutes rivers.[3] Between 1976 and 1993, PGE operated Trojan, the only nuclear power
plant in Oregon. Trojan was the subject of three Oregon initiatives to shut it down. The initiatives failed, but the company elected to close the plant twenty years early.

History

PGE Boiler #16 in 1988

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.[4][5][6] On August 6, 1892, Morey, Frederick Van Voorhies Holman, and Henry Failing formed the Portland General Electric Company.[4] It was funded by General Electric and the investment arm of Old Colony Trust, with $4.25 million in capital.[4] The newly formed PGE Company purchased Willamette Falls Electric and the Albina Light & Water Company in 1892.[4]

Previous logo

Less than a year later, in May 1893, PGE purchased the City-Eastside Electric Light Plant, a municipal power company.[4] E. Kimbark MacColl, who chronicled the history of Portland, referred to it "a generous gift to a private company at the expense of future taxpayers" since it was constructed for a cost of $40,342 and sold 15 months later for $27,000.[4]

In 1903, Henry W. Goode, the president of PGE, decided to make PGE a "popular public utility." His vision was for the company to light the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in 1905. in 1903, he traveled to the east coast to raise three thousand dollars from shareholders. His plan went through, and Thomas H. Wright was put in charge of designing the lighting for the fair.

PGE also purchased the Union Power Company in 1905, and the Vancouver Electric Light & Power Company in 1906.[4] In 1906, PGE, Portland Railway Company, and Oregon Water Power & Railway Company merged, becoming the Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P).[4] It was the only streetcar operator within Portland city limits, and the predecessor of the modern PGE.[4]

The company name became Portland Electric Power Company (PEPCO) in 1932. It was reorganized in 1948 as PGE.

On March 1, 1939, PEPCO defaulted on interest bonds that had been issued in March 1934.[7] The bonds were pledged with PGE (the electric subsidiary) and Portland Traction Company (the streetcar subsidiary) as collateral, with Guaranty Trust as trustee.[7] PEPCO filed for Chapter X bankruptcy (now known as Chapter 9) on April 3, 1939, and was assigned District Judge James Alger Fee.[7] The proceedings were later called "one of the most prolonged and complicated series of legal proceedings in Portland's history".[7]

The reorganization and bond default was brought on by PGE's difficult negotiations with

public utility district in PGE's territory.[7] The Columbia Valley Authority project would have allowed CVA to purchase utilities such as PGE.[7]

PGE survived bankruptcy partially through cheap power purchases from BPA beginning in the fall of 1939, and by the end of 1941 they showed net profits.

Vanport City, Oregon to support them.[7] By 1945, PGE derived nearly $400,000 in revenue from the two Kaiser shipyards in Oregon.[7] In August 1946, after the war, they were able to sell Portland Traction for $8 million in cash. Judge Fee ruled the bankruptcy reorganization complete on June 29, 1946.[7]

On July 1, 1997,

California Electricity Crisis
.

Early attempts to convert the company to a public utility district

public utility district (PUD), the latest of these being in 2003. Most were unsuccessful, but an exception was in 1999, when PGE announced it was selling its customer base in St. Helens, Scappoose, and Columbia City to West Oregon Electric PUD for $7.9 million. The terms of this sale proposed to leave the physical assets of the distribution system —the poles, wires and other components— owned by Enron, who would then manage this system as a contractor exempt from state regulation. Voter distrust of both Enron and PGE was severe enough for voters to approve the measure, despite $71,592 being spent in advertisements to oppose it, in comparison to the $2,304 spent by supporters. This resulted in those three cities becoming part of the Columbia River PUD
on terms far more favorable to the customers; electricity rates immediately dropped in these cities, and remain lower than those for current PGE customers.

Attempted acquisition by Texas Pacific Group

Concerned by uncertainty that the Enron bankruptcy would bring, several local governments began investigation into acquiring PGE by

Oregon Health and Science University
.

Discomfort over the Texas Pacific purchase led to further 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). Also during this time period, PGE received notice of a strike by 900 union workers, effective March 8, 2004, represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Points over which the negotiations broke down included retiree medical benefits as well as losses of the members' 401(k) plan. This labor dispute was resolved shortly afterward, and the union agreed to a new contract.

The TPG purchase offer was denied by the Oregon Public Utility Commission, a three-member regulatory board, on March 10, 2005.[9] 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".[10] Cooper addressed several causes for the termination, including the refusal of the city to pay a $50 million deposit on the sale.[11] 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.[12]

Power plants

Thermal power plants

  • Beaver Generating Plant – 516
    combustion turbine
    (GTs) and Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSGs), and one Steam Turbine Generator (STG) configured in a 6x1 arrangement.
  • Port Westward High Efficiency Gas Power Plant 1 & 2 – 401 & 224 MWe capacity. Located next to Beaver Generating Plant.
  • Carty Generating Plant – 440 MWe – located next to and will replace the Boardman Coal Plant.
  • Coyote Springs Generating Plant – 248 MWe – located in Boardman, Oregon; began operating in 1995. Coyote Springs is a combined cycle cogeneration plant
  • Colstrip Power Plant 3 & 4 – 296 MWe – located in Colstrip, Montana.
    • Total: 2125 MWe
  • Boardman Generating Plant (coal) – 601 MWe – located in Boardman, Oregon. Closed on October 15, 2020.[13]

Hydroelectric plants

Part of the Biglow Canyon Wind Farm, with a turbine under construction

Renewable

Grand Total: 3414 MWe

Renewable energy sales

In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the utility ranked #2 in nationwide sales of renewable energy to customers according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.[14][15][16]

Corporate officers

PGE currently has 11 corporate officers, who include Maria Pope (CEO and president).

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Financial Statements for Portland General – Morningstar". Morningstar.com. 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  2. ^ "Portland General Annual Report". 2015-12-31. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  3. ^ "Corporate Information: How We Generate Energy | PGE". Archived from the original on 2009-10-11. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  4. ^
    OCLC 2645815
    .
  5. ^ 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. Archived from the original on 22 January 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  6. ^ Madrigal, Alexis (June 3, 2010). "June 3, 1889: Power Flows Long-Distance". Condé Nast Digital. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  7. ^
    ISBN 0-9603408-1-5
    .
  8. ^ Hill, Gail Kinsey. NW Natural, PGE deal called off. The Oregonian, May 17, 2002.
  9. ^ "Commission Rejects PGE Sale". PUC. PUC. Retrieved 2016-11-06.
  10. ^ "Sign in to OregonLive.com". The Oregonian.
  11. ^ Enron says no to PGE deal
  12. ^ "Enron Sets Portland General Free". April 3, 2006. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  13. ^ "Oregon's last coal power plant shuts down for good". KGW8.
  14. ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2009-04-13). "NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  15. ^ National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2010-05-03). "NREL Highlights Utility Green Power Leaders". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-05-03.
  16. ^ 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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Portland General Electric.
  • Official website Edit this at Wikidata
  • Business data for Portland General Electric Company:
  • Covanta Energy's Marion County Energy-from-Waste Facility
  • OregonLive Coverage of Enron and PGE
  • "Public bid for PGE falls apart," The Oregonian
  • PGE-Enron timeline, OregonLive.com
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