March 20, 2008

PGE customers to see partial BPA benefits restored in April
Interim credit should reduce average residential bill by about 6 percent

Portland, Ore. – Customers of Portland General Electric (PGE) will see their bills decline beginning next month, thanks to an interim agreement the utility has signed with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). The agreement partially restores a credit that was discontinued in response to a U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in May 2007.

“We’ve worked non-stop with BPA, regulators, and other utilities throughout the region to bring this credit back,” said Jim Lobdell, PGE vice president for power operations and resource strategy. “This interim agreement is an important step that will immediately benefit our customers.”

Under the interim agreement, BPA will make a lump sum payment to PGE of $43.2 million.  Once PGE receives the payment it will submit a plan to the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) to pass the money on to its residential and small farm customers, with benefits expected to resume beginning April 15, 2008. PGE expects to consult stakeholders before completing the distribution plan. Depending on the final plan approved by the OPUC, the monthly bill for an average PGE residential customer should decrease by about $5.50.

“We appreciate the work BPA has done to develop these interim agreements while seeking a long term resolution to the issues raised by the Ninth Circuit,” Lobdell said. “At the same time, we believe PGE customers are entitled to a higher level of benefits than BPA has proposed, and we will continue to advocate on our customers’ behalf as BPA goes through its rate-setting process this summer.”

BPA has provided the credit to customers of investor-owned utilities for decades under the Northwest Power Act of 1980, which requires the federal power marketer to share the benefits of its system with all residential and small farm customers in the region regardless of which utility serves them. The credit was suspended after the Ninth Circuit Court overturned settlements BPA signed with PGE and other regional utilities to implement the benefit-sharing system, called the Residential Exchange Program.

PGE signed the agreement to restore interim benefits after consulting with the OPUC, which instructed the utility to accept the BPA offer.

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