Mayor Gamba, Others Endorse PGE Clean Energy Program Bid

MILWAUKIE, OR — Mark Gamba was one of six Oregon mayors to recently endorse Portland General Electric's new program to meet the state's goal of clean energy production and consumption.

Filed last Friday with the Oregon Public Utility Commission, PGE's "Green Tariff" program — if approved — could create new options for large non-residential customers to purchase clean energy directly from solar, wind, and other renewable energy facilities through PGE's service.

“This is part of PGE’s ongoing commitment to leading the way to a clean energy future for Oregon,” PGE president and CEO Maria Pope said in a statement released Monday. “Many of our customers have ambitious clean energy and sustainability goals — while at the same time wanting to keep prices affordable. This is another way we can meet their needs.”

While the Green Tariff Program allows PGE municipal and large business customers to continue their current service, it also creates the option to obtain clean energy from renewable resources — pushing PGE toward the state's goal of seeing half the state's energy supply come from renewable resources over the next 22 years.

Senate Bill 1547, which was passed by Oregon state legislators in 2016, increases the previous clean energy goal of 25 percent renewable resources by 2025 to 50 percent renewable by 2040.

According to PGE, "The proposed program would deliver power to participating large customers at a price that reflects the actual cost of producing and delivering the energy from a specific facility, and it would be self-supporting to assure that no costs would be shifted to non-participating customers."

Details on the pricing structure and varying contract options can be found here.

In written testimony offered to the commission, Gamba outlined Milwaukie's interest in the Green Tariff program and described what he personally hopes to see happen in the city.

"Along with the rest of the Portland region, the city of Milwaukie is growing. By 2040, Milwaukie’s population is expected to increase by 12 percent — an additional 2,500 new residents," Gamba testified, noting the greatest challenge currently faced in Milwaukie is how to accommodate population growth while maintaining its small town character. "The city of Milwaukie is committed to managing growth in a planned and cost-effective way to retain and enhance those Milwaukie attributes that community members value."

A citizen-informed Vision and Action Plan will help steer the city toward the future imagined by its residents, Gamba explained, adding that PGE's Green Tariff Program could help that effort.

“Climate change is the most serious issue our species has ever faced," he said in a statement. "Converting our energy production to renewable sources and away from adding greenhouse gases to our atmosphere is a critical part of the solution.

"I applaud the efforts of PGE to move more aggressively in that direction," Gamba continued. "I look forward to the city of Milwaukie being able to access electricity from 100 percent renewable sources as a step towards our powerful goal of being a Net Zero City by 2040."

Along with Gamba, mayors from Gresham, Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro, and Salem signed the application endorsing the commission's approval.

Click here for more information about the proposed Green Tariff program.

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