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Portland General Electric (PGE) is a Fortune 1000 public utility based in Portland, Oregon. It distributes electricity to customers in parts of Multnomah, Clackamas,
Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) * Marion (surname) * Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" * Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * M ...
, Yamhill,
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, and Polk counties - 44% of the inhabitants of Oregon. 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 Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. B ...
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 hydroelectric power from dams on the Clackamas, Willamette and Deschutes rivers. Between 1976 and 1993, PGE operated
Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...
, 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

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 The Willamette Falls is a natural waterfall on the Willamette River between Oregon City and West Linn, Oregon, in the United States. It is the largest waterfall in the Northwestern United States by volume, and the seventeenth widest in the wor ...
over a 14-mile
electric power transmission Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is ...
line to Portland, the first US power plant to do so. On August 6, 1892, Morey,
Frederick Van Voorhies Holman Frederick Van Voorhies Holman (August 29, 1852 – July 6, 1927) was a prominent lawyer and civic leader of the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. Legal counsel for the Portland Railway, Light an ...
, and
Henry Failing Henry Failing (January 17, 1834 – November 8, 1898) was a banker, and one of the leading businessmen of the Pacific Northwest of the United States. He was one of Portland, Oregon's earliest residents, and served as that city's mayor in two ...
formed the Portland General Electric Company. It was funded by General Electric and the investment arm of Old Colony Trust, with $4.25 million in capital. The newly formed PGE Company purchased Willamette Falls Electric and the Albina Light & Water Company in 1892. Less than a year later, in May 1893, PGE purchased the City-Eastside Electric Light Plant, a municipal power company. 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. 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. In 1906, PGE, Portland Railway Company, and Oregon Water Power & Railway Company merged, becoming the
Portland Railway, Light and Power Company The Portland Railway, Light and Power Company (PRL&P) was a railway company and electric power utility in Portland, Oregon, United States, from 1906 until 1924.Thompson, Richard M. (2006). ''Portland's Streetcars'', pp. 57 and 99. Arcadia Publish ...
(PRL&P). It was the only streetcar operator within Portland city limits, and the predecessor of the modern PGE. 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. The bonds were pledged with PGE (the electric subsidiary) and Portland Traction Company (the streetcar subsidiary) as collateral, with Guaranty Trust as trustee. PEPCO filed for Chapter X bankruptcy (now known as Chapter 9) on April 3, 1939, and was assigned District Judge
James Alger Fee James Alger Fee (September 24, 1888 – August 25, 1959) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and previously was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Di ...
. The proceedings were later called "one of the most prolonged and complicated series of legal proceedings in Portland's history". The reorganization and bond default was brought on by PGE's difficult negotiations with
Bonneville Power Administration The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is an American federal agency operating in the Pacific Northwest. BPA was created by an act of Congress in 1937 to market electric power from the Bonneville Dam located on the Columbia River and to constr ...
, the death of Seattle City Light's visionary J. D. Ross, and the indecision created by the possible creation of a
public utility district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
in PGE's territory. The Columbia Valley Authority project would have allowed CVA to purchase utilities such as PGE. 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. In the meantime, Ormond R. Bean, the Oregon Public Utility Commissioner, forced PGE to lower its rates. Ultimately, PEPCO and PGE were saved by World War II, which led to the construction of three
Kaiser Shipyards The Kaiser Shipyards were seven major shipbuilding yards located on the United States west coast during World War II. Kaiser ranked 20th among U.S. corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. The shipyards were owned by the Kaise ...
and of
Vanport City, Oregon Vanport, sometimes referred to as Vanport City or Kaiserville, was a city of wartime public housing in Multnomah County, Oregon, United States, between the contemporary Portland city boundary and the Columbia River. It was destroyed in the 1948 ...
to support them. By 1945, PGE derived nearly $400,000 in revenue from the two Kaiser shipyards in Oregon. 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. On July 1, 1997,
Enron Corporation Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. It was founded by Kenneth Lay in 1985 as a merger between Lay's Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, both relatively small regional companies. B ...
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 to other investor-owned utilities including Portland-based
NW Natural NW Natural, formerly Northwest Natural Gas Company, is an American publicly traded utility headquartered in Portland, Oregon, United States. Primarily a natural gas distributor, the company services residential, commercial, and industrial customers ...
.Hill, Gail Kinsey. NW Natural, PGE deal called off. '' The Oregonian'', May 17, 2002. The corporate officers of PGE claimed that this utility was not involved in the financial mis-dealings of its owner, pointing to the fact that many of its employees suffered when Enron froze the
401(k) In the United States, a 401(k) plan is an employer-sponsored, defined-contribution, personal pension (savings) account, as defined in subsection 401(k) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Periodical employee contributions come directly out of their ...
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 Timothy Belden, head of the West Coast Trading Desk and John Forney, an energy trader who invented various
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
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 California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.


Early attempts to convert the company to a public utility district

Ballot measures have been filed by citizens several times since the 1960s to convert some or all of PGE into a
Public Utility District A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(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 condemnation. These studies ended after the announcement on November 17, 2003 that a group called Oregon Electric Utility, led by former governor
Neil Goldschmidt Neil Edward Goldschmidt (born June 16, 1940) is an American businessman and Democratic politician from the state of Oregon who held local, state and federal offices over three decades. After serving as the United States Secretary of Transportat ...
and backed by
Texas Pacific Group TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American investment company based in Fort Worth, Texas. The private equity firm is focused on leveraged buyouts and growth capital. TPG manages investment funds in grow ...
, offered to buy PGE for $2.35 billion. This was the sole bid received by the bankruptcy judge, who approved the bid. When details that Goldschmidt had sexually assaulted a minor in the 1970s emerged, he withdrew from the negotiations, and was replaced by Peter O. Kohler, president of the
Oregon Health and Science University Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. ...
. Discomfort over the Texas Pacific purchase led to further voter
initiatives In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a p ...
to convert parts of PGE into PUDs. PGE defeated measures in
Multnomah County Multnomah County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 815,428. Multnomah County is part of the Portland–Vancouver– Hillsboro, OR–WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Tho ...
(November 14, 2003),
Yamhill County Yamhill County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 107,722. The county seat is McMinnville. Yamhill County was named after the Yamhelas, members of the Kalapuya Tribe. Yamhill C ...
(March, 2004), and
Clackamas County Clackamas County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 421,401, making it Oregon's third-most populous county. Its county seat is Oregon City. The county was named after the Nati ...
(May 18, 2004). Also during this time period, PGE received notice of a
strike Strike may refer to: People * Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
by 900
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''U ...
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 A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during col ...
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. 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 A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
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". Cooper addressed several causes for the termination, including the refusal of the city to pay a $50 million deposit on the sale. The same day, Governor
Ted Kulongoski Theodore Ralph Kulongoski ( ; born November 5, 1940) is an American politician, judge, and lawyer who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon from 2003 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative A ...
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.


Power plants


Thermal power plants

* Beaver Generating Plant - 516 MWe - located Clatskanie, Oregon. * 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 Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...
plant * Colstrip Power Plant 3 & 4 - 296 MWe - located in
Colstrip, Montana Colstrip is a city in Rosebud County, Montana, United States. The population was 2,096 at the 2020 census. Established in 1924 and incorporated as a city in 1998, Colstrip is the largest city in Rosebud County with 25.2% of the total populatio ...
. ** Total: 2125 MWe * Boardman Generating Plant (coal) - 601 MWe - located in
Boardman, Oregon Boardman is a city in Morrow County, Oregon, United States on the Columbia River and Interstate 84. As of the 2010 census the population was 3,220. It is currently the largest town in Morrow County, Oregon. History Boardman was homesteaded ...
. Closed on October 15, 2020.


Hydroelectric plants

* Faraday (
Clackamas River The Clackamas River is an approximately tributary of the Willamette River in northwestern Oregon, in the United States. Draining an area of about , the Clackamas flows through mostly forested and rugged mountainous terrain in its upper reaches, a ...
) - 46 MWe * North Fork (Clackamas River) - 58 MWe * Oak Grove (Clackamas River) - 44 MWe *
River Mill Hydroelectric Project River Mill Hydroelectric Project, also known as River Mill Dam and Station M, is a hydroelectric dam and powerhouse in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. It is just north of Estacada, Oregon, on the Clackamas River at river mile 23.5 (km 3 ...
(Clackamas River) - 25 MWe * T.W.Sullivan ( Willamette River) - 18 MWe * Pelton Dam ( Deschutes River) - 108 MWe *
Round Butte Dam Round Butte Dam is a rockfill-type hydroelectric dam on the Deschutes River, in the U.S. state of Oregon. Located in Jefferson County and owned by the power company Portland General Electric, its reservoir is called Lake Billy Chinook. The d ...
(Deschutes River) - 300 MWe ** Total: 559 MWe * Bull Run (
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and Little Sandy rivers) - 22 MWe (decommissioned, 2007)


Renewable

* Biglow Canyon Wind Farm - generating capacity of 450 MWe * Tucannon River Wind Farm - generating capacity of 267 MWe * Marion County Waste-to-Energy Facility - 13 MWe from municipal garbage incineration ** Total: 730 MWe 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.


Corporate officers

PGE currently has 11 corporate officers, who include Maria Pope (
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
and president).


See also

*
List of companies based in Oregon This is a list of companies based in Oregon. Oregon is the ninth largest by area and the 27th most populous of the 50 United States. The gross domestic product (GDP) of Oregon in 2010 was $168.6 billion; it is the United States's 26th wealthies ...


References


External links

* *
Covanta Energy Covanta Holding Corporation is a private energy-from-waste and industrial waste management services company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Most of its revenue comes from operating power plants that burn trash as fuel. Covanta charges a ...
'
Marion County Energy-from-Waste FacilityOregonLive Coverage of Enron and PGE"Public bid for PGE falls apart," The OregonianPGE-Enron timeline, OregonLive.com
{{Authority control Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange Companies based in Portland, Oregon Public utilities established in 1888 Energy in Oregon Nuclear power companies of the United States Hydroelectric power companies of the United States 1888 establishments in Oregon