PGE seeks input on draft RFP for new renewable resources

Wednesday, Jul 04, 2012

Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) today released to stakeholders and potential bidders a draft request for proposals that is expected to open for bids later this year. The RFP will seek power generating resources to help PGE comply with Oregon’s renewable energy standard. This early look at the draft RFP allows interested parties insight into what the company is looking for from renewable resources before PGE asks for regulatory approval to move forward.

“Our customers are benefitting right now from the resource diversity provided by wind generation, as well as key solar projects we’ve put in place over the past few years, and we look forward to seeing what options the market can offer to further expand our renewable portfolio.”

“PGE is steadily adding renewable resources,” said Jim Lobdell, PGE’s vice president for power operations and resource strategy. “Our customers are benefitting right now from the resource diversity provided by wind generation, as well as key solar projects we’ve put in place over the past few years, and we look forward to seeing what options the market can offer to further expand our renewable portfolio.”

The RFP will seek approximately 101 average megawatts of renewable power, equivalent to the output of a wind farm with a nameplate capacity of 330 to 385 megawatts – enough to serve more than 83,000 typical PGE residential customers. PGE is targeting 2015 to bring this resource online, when the renewable energy standard will require that 15 percent of retail customers’ energy needs be supplied from renewable resources.

PGE will hold two workshops to help inform interested parties and potential bidders and seek input on the draft RFP. Non-bidding stakeholders are invited to attend a 9-11 a.m. workshop on July 16, 2012. That same day, potential bidders are invited to attend a 3-5 p.m. workshop. Both workshops will be held in the World Trade Center Conference Center, 121 SW Salmon Street in Portland, Oregon.

The company intends to submit a final draft RFP to the Oregon Public Utility Commission on July 25. The commission will accept comments and a recommendation from its staff before deciding whether to allow the RFP to proceed.

This RFP will be conducted pursuant to guidelines established by the OPUC and is a principal step in implementing PGE’s integrated resource plan that the OPUC acknowledged in November 2010.

PGE also issued a separate RFP on June 8 that is open for bids until August 8, seeking baseload energy resources as well as flexible and seasonal capacity resources.

PGE expects to submit “benchmark” proposals in each competitive bidding process.

Accion Group, Inc., an independent evaluator hired by the OPUC, will assist in conducting the RFP and reviewing bids to assure an open and impartial process. The independent evaluator will also provide an assessment of the bid scoring, including PGE’s benchmark proposals, and a short list selection resulting from the RFPs. The independent evaluator will then issue a closing report with a detailed assessment of the process and its results.

Source: Business Wire