PGE Suspends Permitting Processes For New Power Plant Sites

(RTTNews) - Portland General Electric Co. (POR) late Friday said it has submitted a letter to the Oregon Department of Energy and another to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, asking for suspension of the utility's request for amendment of the site certificate for the Carty Generating Station near Boardman, Ore. as well as a related air permit application.

The amendment and permit, if approved, would have allowed for the construction of two new generating units at Carty, if the units were selected as the least cost/lowest risk option in a future competitive bidding process for new generating resources.

The company said its request for the amendment was driven by the need to insure that it has a viable option to secure a cost-effective dispatchable generation resource to provide reliable service to customers.

Jim Piro, PGE's president and CEO, said, "We're currently in bilateral negotiations to acquire dispatchable resources to meet our customers' energy needs. It's appropriate for us to suspend the permitting process at Carty until we complete these negotiations."

If the company is able to secure capacity through bilateral negotiations PGE will seek approval of the agreements from the Oregon Public Utility Commission along with a waiver to competitive bidding guidelines as necessary.

The company may also propose a competitive request for proposals to acquire any additional needed capacity resources not acquired through the bilateral negotiations.

In addition, PGE proposes to conduct an RFP to acquire approximately 175 average megawatts of new renewable resources.