The 550-megawatt plant would
be the company's second Oregon generating station
PORTLAND, OR - PG&E Corporation's
National Energy Group (NYSE: PCG) has filed an application with
the Oregon Office of Energy to build a new generating station in
Eastern Oregon's Umatilla County, adjacent to the company's operating
power plant in Hermiston. The company said the new facility, slated
to begin operation in 2003, will help meet the Northwest's growing
energy needs.
"The PG&E National Energy
Group has long had a strong business presence in the Pacific Northwest,
including our natural gas transmission system and the Hermiston
Generating Plant," said Thomas B. King, president and COO of the
PG&E National Energy Group (NEG). "We hope to build on our experience
in the region to become a major contributor in the effort to meet
the region's growing energy demand. The Umatilla Generating Project
is a key component of that strategy."
King noted that forecasts
by the Northwest Power Planning Council show that the region has
a one-in-four chance of experiencing an energy shortfall during
winter months if new resources are not developed. To reduce that
probability to a one-in-twenty chance, 3,000 megawatts of new electric
generating capacity will need to be built before 2003. The proposed
550-megawatt Umatilla Generating Project would generate enough power
for 550,000 homes.
The NEG has filed an application
with the Oregon Office of Energy for a site certificate for the
plant. The application was in the form of an amendment to a previous
certificate filing made five years earlier. Roger Garratt, lead
developer for the project, said the permitting process should take
about a year. The company hopes to begin construction on the plant
in early 2002.
"Based on our experience
in siting and building the Hermiston Generating Plant five years
ago, we are very familiar with the Oregon siting process and its
focus on building consensus among the stakeholder groups," Garratt
said. "We have already begun meeting with a number of interested
parties, including representatives of the local community, and we
look forward to continuing the effort."
The Umatilla Generating
Project will be a highly efficient combined cycle combustion turbine,
built adjacent to the 474-megawatt Hermiston Generating Plant, which
the NEG co-owns with PacifiCorp. The two plants will share much
of the same infrastructure, maximizing efficiencies. The Umatilla
plant will burn natural gas, with its fuel supply transported via
the NEG's Pacific Northwest natural gas pipeline system.
PG&E Corporation, with 1999
revenues of nearly $21 billion and operations in 21 states, markets
energy services and products throughout North America through its
National Energy Group. The Corporation has ownership and management
interests in more than 30 power plants and has one of the largest
energy trading and risk management programs in North America.