Portland General Electric plans $1 billion investment in gas plant and wind farm

By Ted Sickinger
The Oregonian

Portland General Electric Co. on Monday announced the front end of a massive capital investment program, unveiling its plan to invest nearly $1 billion in a new gas fired power plant in Central Oregon and a new wind farm in Southeastern Washington. The new resources come on top of a $300 million gas plant the company is building in Clatskanie.

The company also said it had reached a tentative agreement — though no price was attached — to buy up to 1,500 megawatts in transmission capacity from Bonneville Power Administration. That deal would replace PGE’s plan to build its own transmission line across the Cascades, a project that carried a price tag up to $1.2 billion.

Demand for electricity is growing slowly in the Northwest, and the region’s grand plan is meet most demand growth in the next two decades with energy efficiency and conservation measures. Read more