PNGC Power, at the direction of its Board of Directors, has secured power to meet load growth for 14 member electricity distribution cooperatives, serving combined electricity loads for just over 171,000 retail residential, commercial and irrigation accounts throughout the Northwest.  PNGC Power, based in Portland , is an electric generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative owned by a group of Northwest electric distribution cooperative utilities with service territory in seven western states.  

This resource action is for the first two operating years of PNGC Power’s new long-term contract with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).  For this two year period, 2012 and 2013, PNGC has acquired the output from part of the Coffin Butte landfill gas-to-energy project located near Corvallis , Oregon .  The remainder of the power for 2012 and 2013 will be purchased directly from BPA using their market based “Tier 2” short term rate.    

Because BPA won’t set the price for Tier 2 power until the summer of 2011, PNGC is hedging the price for part of the Tier 2 requirement with a market transaction.  This series of actions is the first formal power supply step taken under the auspices of PNGC’s new business model, which formally commences October 1, 2011.  

“This strategy provides our member cooperatives certainty for this interim period at the beginning of the new contracts,” said John Prescott , PNGC Power’s President and CEO.  “At the same time, it allows us to undertake the development of our own resources which are planned to deliver power to member cooperatives starting in 2014.  The long-term vision for PNCG Power is to own a portfolio of generating resources that delivers cost-based power to its members.”  

PNGC member cooperatives share a goal of bringing long-term value to their customers, Prescott said. “These recent power supply decisions highlight the value of being a member of PNGC Power.  By working together, we think member cooperatives are able to bring a better outcome to future power supply for local consumers." The 14 cooperative members are those going forward with PNGC Power as owners in the new contract period, staring October 1, 2011.

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PNGC Power is a Portland-based electric generation and transmission (G & T) cooperative owned by 16 Northwest electric distribution cooperative utilities with service territory in seven western states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming).  The company creates value for its member systems by providing power supply, transmission and other management services.  PNGC Power is an aggregator of geographically diverse loads in the region and became the first electric cooperative in the country to receive a power marketing license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  More information about PNGC Power can be found at www.pngcpower.com.