The “race” to electrification comes to Portland
June 22, 2023
As the proud supplier of power to the Portland International Raceway, we can feel the excitement buzzing this weekend in anticipation of electric excellence hitting the racetrack. With community members turning their eyes to the race, now is a good opportunity to highlight some of the ways PGE is enabling customers to participate in the transportation electrification transition.
In Oregon, about 40% of emissions come from the transportation sector. Electrifying transportation provides one of the most significant opportunities for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful pollutants – especially in underserved communities.
5 ways PGE is empowering customers to go electric
Forecasting and planning to serve electric load: PGE recently filed our draft Transportation Electrification Plan with the Oregon Public Utility Commission, which outlines PGE’s strategy for forecasting, serving and managing new TE load. This filing also highlights PGE’s efforts to ensure the electrified future is both accessible and inclusive to our customers, with 58% of the investments allocated to addressing the needs of underserved communities.
Funding school districts and nonprofits: PGE’s Drive Change Fund and Electric School Bus Fund, made possible by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Clean Fuels Program, provide grants to school districts and nonprofit organizations to meet their electrification goals. Thanks to the Electric School Bus Fund, the Beaverton, Gresham-Barlow, Portland, Salem-Keizer and Tigard-Tualatin school districts were chosen to be recipients of the 2022 Electric School Bus Fund based on their commitments to meet the needs of underserved communities and incorporate the buses more broadly into student education around climate science.
Providing incentives and rebates to charge EVs smartly: PGE’s Smart Charging program offers rebates to customers help them charge faster at home with a Level 2 charger. Participants also receive credits for allowing PGE to shift charging to times when energy demand and prices are lower.
Taking out the guesswork for fleets going electric: The Fleet Partner Program helps businesses and municipalities transition their fleets by providing cost analysis, design, construction and other support services from start to finish. PGE expects to upgrade 75 fleet depots to support over 1,000 EVs from delivery vans to school buses to heavy-duty tractor-trailers.
“Walking the talk” with PGE’s own fleet electrification: More than 60% of PGE’s entire fleet will be electric by 2030, including 100% of Class 1 vehicles (sedans, SUVs, small pickups — even forklifts), by 2025.
With EVs’ reduced emissions, cost savings at the gas pump and significantly improved range compared to early models, a growing number of customers are interested in going electric. PGE is ready to meet them with the “electric fuel” to help them cross the finish line in the race to electrification!