April 14, 2009

PORTLAND, Ore. — For the fourth year in a row, Portland General Electric (PGE) (NYSE: POR) sold more renewable power to residential customers than any other utility in the United States. That’s according to the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), which today released its annual rankings of the nation’s top utility green pricing programs. 

PGE residential customers purchased nearly 530 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy in 2008, 18 percent more than in 2007.

Also in 2008, the total number of PGE renewable power customers neared 70,000 for the first time, an increase of more than 12 percent since 2007.  This includes residential and commercial customers.

“PGE’s customers continue to set the standard for their support of renewable energy,” said Thor Hinckley, PGE renewable power program manager. “Oregonians are committed to doing their part to be green and help protect the environment.”

Separately, NREL released lists of the top 10 national Utility Green Power Programs in five categories based on 2008 data. PGE appears on four of the five lists.

PGE’s 2008 NREL Rankings Highlights

• Total Number of Customer Participants. PGE held the No. 2 spot for the second straight year for total number of customer participants, with 69,258 at the end of 2008, an increase of 12 percent. This includes residential and commercial participants.
• Renewable Energy Sales.  PGE maintained its No. 2 ranking of total renewable energy sales to residential and commercial customers combined.  At the end of 2008, PGE sold 681,943,576 kWh, an increase of more than 23 percent since 2007. PGE also maintained its position as No. 5 in terms of green power sales as a percentage of total retail electricity sales.

• Customer Participation Rate. PGE remained No. 4 in the nation for the percentage of customers who purchase a renewable power option. At the end of 2008, PGE had 9.7 percent of customers purchasing a renewable power option, an increase of 14 percent from 2007.

NREL rankings are based on raw numbers for calendar year 2008 and are not adjusted for the size of the utility. The full report can be accessed at http://apps3.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/.

For more information about PGE’s renewable programs, visit www.GreenPowerOregon.com.