2008-08-21 23:43:03 -

www.portlandgeneral.com - Portland General Electric (PGE) (NYSE:POR) has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to prospective third-party providers to supply capacity that could help PGE manage its load during periods of peak power demand by organizing qualifying customers to temporarily reduce their use of electricity. The RFP calls for proposals for 50 megawatts (MW) of "demand

response" (DR) peak capacity, with a deadline of October 29, 2008 for capacity available by December 2009.

Demand response programs are designed to be activated on short notice to reduce the demand for electricity during times of stress on the grid. By reducing demand, utilities can reduce or delay the need to build power plants that are designed primarily to meet peak loads.

"PGE is already a leader in finding ways to partner with our customers to help meet the demand for electricity in our service territory," said Joe Barra, PGE's director of customer energy resources. "Now we're ready to take this a step further by looking for new demand-response options. We see this as a way to help meet our customers' need for reliable electricity, manage power costs, and reduce our impact on the environment."

Customer participation in any bidder's program is entirely voluntary, and will involve only a few hours each year. Customers who participate in demand response programs typically receive some sort of incentive for reducing load on the system, while the utility benefits by having access to power at a lower cost than might be available on the wholesale market during peak periods.

Interested parties can register for notifications of postings and announcements at the RFP website. Register at www.portlandgeneralrfp.com. Please note that this registration is for the DR RFP and is separate from PGE's Energy/Renewable RFP.

About Portland General Electric Company

Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a vertically integrated electric utility that serves approximately 813,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit our Web site at www.PortlandGeneral.com.

Portland General Electric
Steve Corson, 503-464-8444
Elaina Medina, 503-464-8790