Portland General Electric Company (“PGE”) believes the confidentiality of customer information is extremely important. PGE values our customer relationships and recognize that when You provide personal information, You trust PGE to protect this information. For that reason, PGE has adopted this policy governing the use of information gathered on the PGE Mobile Application (the “Application”).
DOWNLOADING, INSTALLING, ACCESSING OR USING THE APPLICATION CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THE PRACTICES DESCRIBED IN THIS PGE MOBILE APPLICATION PRIVACY POLICY WHICH MAY BE REVISED BY PGE FROM TIME TO TIME. The PGE Mobile Application License Agreement governs your use of the Application.
As used herein, “Application” includes, without limitation, any services specific to the Application, software code, scripts, interfaces, graphics, displays, text, images, artwork, music or video clips, documentation and other components or content and any updates, modifications or enhancements to these items accompanying the Application. “You,” and “Your” refer to You, an individual using the Application, and/or to the company or other legal entity on whose behalf You use the Application.
The Application collects certain data automatically, such as: the type of device you use, device identifiers, such as the resettable advertising identifier assigned to your device, the IP address of your device, geographical data such as the location of your device, your operating system, Wi-Fi mac address in your area, the type of internet browsers you use, data connection status and success/failure of connection, and data about the way you use the Application, installed applications on your device, and other data as reasonably required by PGE to enhance our services. This type of information is used to generate statistical reports about the general use of the Application. PGE stores information that PGE collects through log files to create a profile of our users. Log files record internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser types, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. PGE uses this data to analyze trends, administer the Application, track customer movement through the Application and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.
You must provide certain information to download and use the Application. PGE may ask that you provide Your name, address, phone number and email address, username, password and other registration data. PGE may use this information, along with third party sources, to provide information to You based on Your preferences. PGE may tie personally identifiable information to Your profile to statistically analyze Application usage; to improve content and product offerings; and to customize the Application’s content, layout and services. PGE may also use such information to deliver content to You that, in some cases, is targeted to Your interests, such as banners and messages concerning new programs, services, promotions and events. In addition, this information may be used to provide email messages suited to Your needs and interests. PGE may also get data from other sources and may combine it with data collected about you.
If You are starting a new electric service account, PGE will ask for additional personal information for credit verification and security purposes only. This information will be used to provide a requested service, to facilitate purchases and to provide You with email communications.
PGE will not sell or rent the information collected on the Application to any party or share it in ways different from those disclosed in this statement.
You can stop all collection of data by the Application by uninstalling the Application. You may use the standard uninstall processes as may be available as part of your device or via your device’s application marketplace or network.
PGE does not use the Application to knowingly solicit data from or market to children under the age of 18.
In order to use certain Application functionality such as location-based services, You must either (a) enable location services in the Application and/or (b) set the permissions in Your mobile device to allow communication of this information. If You use such functionality, You consent to the transmission of this information to PGE and/or its agents and authorizes PGE and/or its agents to record, process and store such information as necessary for the Application functionality and for the purposes of improved personalized communication and experience and accurate outage notifications, based on location. PGE may collect location data using network triangulation, GPS, and Wi-Fi IP address to determine your general device location.
You may at any time opt-out from further allowing the Application to have access to your precise location data by deactivating location services in the privacy settings on your device.
PGE sends registered customers emails related to their PGE electric service and their online account. These may include welcome messages, online transaction confirmations, customer service notices and messages required by the Oregon Public Utility Commission. Generally, You may not opt-out of these communications. If You do not wish to receive them, You have the option to deactivate Your account. By establishing service online or by registering for a PGE online account, You agree to receive the following types of email communications: newsletters and occasional emails related to Your PGE service, including information on energy efficiency, safety and outages, surveys and promotions. You may opt out of specific types of email communications at any time using the Manage Subscriptions and Unsubscribe links provided at the bottom of each email message.
You can make changes to Your online account information, including Your profile, by visiting the Update Account Info section of the Application. If You no longer wish to access Your account online, You can cancel Your online membership by following the instructions located under Cancel Online Services on the PGE website.
When downloading the Application, You are provided the option to opt in to receive certain push notifications on Your mobile device. This may include promotional communications, offers, and account related messages pushed to Your mobile device. You may at any time opt out of receiving some or all of these optional push notifications by switching each alert setting to “off” in the Notification Preferences section within the Application. PGE also sends notifications related to account disconnection and power interruptions. You may not opt-out of these communications. If You do not wish to receive them, You have the option to turn off all push notifications within the mobile device’s settings. In-Application messages will automatically be sent to You via the Application’s Message Center. Push notifications may also be displayed on a locked or inactive device screen. If You do not wish to see or receive push messages, You should stop using the Application. Opting out of push notifications will not affect Your settings with respect to email communications.
The Application may use automatic data collection technologies including first- and third-party Cookies, log files, Web Beacons, Pixels, dynamic tags, and other technical means. PGE may use these technologies to collect information about your online activities over time and across third-party websites or other online services in order to track usage, to understand preferences, and to deliver content and advertising tailored to your interests, both on the Application and on third-party applications (including but not limited to search engines and social media applications) as well as through PGE’s website and other electronic communications. PGE also uses cookies and pixel tags to obtain aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction, to identify trends and obtain statistics so that PGE can improve the Application. The information PGE collects may include your (i) IP-address; (ii) unique cookie identifier, cookie information and information on whether your device has software to access certain features; (iii) unique device identifier and device type; (iv) domain, browser type and language, (v) operating system and system settings; (vi) country and time zone; (vii) previously visited websites; (viii) information about your interaction with sites such as click behavior, purchases and indicated preferences; and (ix) access times and referring URLs.
You may adjust your advertising preferences on your mobile device at the device level. For example, to adjust your advertising preferences in iOS, visit Settings > Privacy > Advertising > Limit Ad Tracking. To adjust your advertising preferences in Android, visit Settings > Google > Ads > Opt out of interest-based ads.
The information that You provide PGE enables You to access various customer services offered through the Application. PGE may use this information to contact You regarding customer services, including but not limited to, responding to an inquiry or a request for services that You send to PGE, sending notifications via email regarding construction and maintenance updates, activities pertaining to PGE programs or services, providing surveys to help improve customer service, notifying customers of special events, sharing energy and safety education information, and providing offers related to our products and services that may be of interest to You. If You choose to communicate with PGE by email, then email from PGE to You will be considered sent with Your consent and will be accessible to anyone who has access to Your email.
In order to provide You with services offered through Application, or to complete transactions or requests initiated by You using our Application, PGE may transfer You to websites operated by third parties that help PGE provide services to You. In such cases, PGE will have agreements with those parties under which they will agree to maintain confidentiality of Your personally identifiable information and to use it only for the purpose of helping PGE serve You.
PGE has agreements with other local utility companies to share customer information for credit purposes only. PGE has established security procedures to ensure that information is being shared only with authorized utility representatives.
Occasionally, PGE may hire third parties to act on PGE’s behalf for activities such as market research surveys, billing, technical support, contest entry processing and to provide energy management services. These parties will not be permitted to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing their specific services, and they are not permitted to disclose, transfer or sell personally identifiable information.
At the direction of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, PGE shares selected customer information with Energy Trust of Oregon. This information is used for designing, evaluating and improving Energy Trust services for energy efficiency and renewable energy systems and for marketing purposes. Energy Trust is obligated under OPUC regulations to protect PGE customer information, including name, address and energy-use history, and keep it confidential. Learn more at PortlandGeneral.com/DataShare or PortlandGeneral.com/DataShareBusiness.
Other than the ways mentioned above, PGE will not release personally identifiable information to third parties without permission from You, unless PGE is required to do so by law or PGE in good faith believes such action is necessary to (1) comply with the law or legal process, (2) protect and defend PGE’s rights or property, (3) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of the Application or (4) protect the personal safety or property of our customers or the public.
PGE understands that online security is very important to PGE customers. The Application uses a variety of protection products including, but not limited to firewalls, digital certificates, authentication procedures, intrusion detection and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption technology. Your browser must be capable of supporting SSL.
This Application contains links to other Applications and websites. PGE is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of these other Applications. These third-party websites are not under the control of PGE, and PGE is not responsible for the contents, links or any changes or updates to these websites. Further, the inclusion of any hypertext links in any of PGE’s Applications does not imply endorsement by PGE of the related third-party website, the website's contents, or any association or affiliation with its operators. These third-party websites may send cookies, log Your IP address, and otherwise collect data or solicit personal information from You. PGE encourages You to be aware when You leave the Application and to read the privacy statements of other Applications that collect personally identifiable information. This PGE Mobile Application Privacy Policy statement applies solely to information collected by PGE.
PGE welcomes Your questions and comments on this PGE Mobile Application Privacy Policy. Email PGE Customer Service at customer.service@pgn or call 800-542-8818. The address for PGE headquarters is 121 SW Salmon St., Portland, OR 97204.
The PGE Mobile Application Privacy Policy was effective as of Aug. 1, 2019. PGE may from time to time, and without notice, amend, change or modify this PGE Mobile Application Privacy Policy to reflect changes in PGE services and our policies relating to customer information by posting a revised policy. Any revised policy shall be effective immediately on posting. Please check this policy frequently to review PGE’s latest changes and our current policy.