Oregon Largest Power Companies, According To A Survey, Fall Short of Climate Goals

By Gilbert E. On Jan 4, 2023

Oregon Largest Power Companies: Its most recent Dirty Truth study graded 77 of the nation’s largest electric companies, including PGE, Idaho Power, and PacifiCorp (the parent company of Pacific Power, which serves Oregon and California). Only one of Oregon’s three largest power companies was found to be on track to meet the Biden administration’s goal of generating 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and 100% by 2035.

Oregon Largest Power Companies, According To A Survey, Fall Short Of Climate Goals

According to the US Energy Information Administration, more than 40% of the country’s power came from emission-free sources in 2015.

The Sierra Club assigned a letter grade to each of the state’s three largest private electricity providers for their respective plans to reduce emissions over the next decade: an “F” to PGE, the state’s largest private electricity provider, serving nearly 1 million customers; a “D” to PacifiCorp; and a “C” to Idaho Power.

Companies were given points based on their commitment to ending the use of coal for electricity generation and replacing it with renewable sources during the following decade. Companies were penalized if they intended to increase their output of fossil fuels or if they did not commit to investing in enough renewable energy to fulfill projected demand by the year 2030.

PGE’s grade in the Sierra Club’s Dirty Truth report has dropped from a “C” in 2021 to an “F” in 2022, despite the company’s efforts to increase its use of renewable power in recent years. The country has promised to transition to 100% renewable energy sources by 2040, not 2035, and has made no commitment to cease the import of electricity generated by coal.

The corporation received a failing grade because its public pledges to reduce emissions exceeded the capabilities of its existing plans, a practise known as “greenwashing.” In an email, PGE communications specialist Sarah Hamaker stated that the company does not agree with the grade.

Oregon “has some of the most stringent climate objectives in the country, and PGE is delighted to support these policies,” she said, adding that the company has also decommissioned the state’s last coal plant, located in Boardman in northeast Oregon.

She also cited the company’s new Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility in Morrow County as proof of the company’s commitment to renewable energy. This project, according to Hamaker, is among the largest wind and solar generating and storage facilities in the United States.

PacifiCorp received a “D” this year, an improvement from an “F” the previous year. This is because the company has committed to reducing its reliance on coal and increasing its investment in renewable energy over the next decade. The study, on the other hand, indicates that the corporation intends to increase gas-powered energy production over the next decade.

Idaho Power’s grade was raised from an “F” to a “C” as a result of its pledge to cut coal-generated power in half and increase renewable energy generation by more than 60% over the next decade.

The Clean Energy For All bill, enacted by the legislature in 2021, requires the state of Oregon’s two main electric companies, PGE and Pacific Power, to transition to 100% non-fossil fuel sources by the year 2040. It also prohibited the construction of any new fossil-fuel-powered power plants in Oregon. Hydropower now meets more than half of Oregon’s electrical needs while emitting no greenhouse gases.

The 77 utilities studied by the charity account for roughly 40% of all power consumed in the United States. According to the report, most utilities are not on track to meet Biden’s goals, and more than half have made no progress toward their emissions targets in the last year.

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