Electric vehicle charging station projects across Oregon receive funding from Pacific Power grant program
In addition to the popular Pacific Power grant program, local organizations can now enroll in a new electric charging station technical assistance program.
PORTLAND, ORE. – More Oregon cities are getting help with charging-up from a Pacific Power grant program. Electric vehicle charging station projects from Seaside to Grants Pass – 10 in all – will receive up to 100% of eligible costs. The program, which launched in late 2018, is designed to assist non-profits, local governments and businesses with providing workers, customers and the general public with more options to charge electric vehicles.
“We are continuously evaluating and investing in ways to support the communities we serve,” said Cory Scott, director of customer solutions. “As more people take to the road in electric vehicles, they will need more ways to charge their car. This program is just one of the ways Pacific Power is helping to build out the necessary infrastructure to ensure electric vehicle drivers have plenty of options to power their daily commutes and summer road trips.”
Pacific Power is providing grant funding to help non-residential customers develop community-driven electric transportation infrastructure projects. The electric vehicle charging station grant program will award $1.45 million in total to projects that advance transportation electrification in areas such as workplace charging and publicly accessible stations.
Grant Recipients:
The next round of grant applications opened on April 15, 2019. Funding awards will cover up to 100 percent of the project cost. All non-residential Pacific Power customers in California, Oregon, and Washington are eligible to apply with preference given to community-focused organizations, such as 501(c)(3) and city, county and regional governments.
Applications will be accepted up to May 15, 2019 at 5:00 PM. Recipients will be announced June 2019.
For detailed eligibility requirements, project qualifications and application forms, please visit pacificpower.net/ev-grants.
Materials may be submitted to plugin@pacificpower.net.
To learn more about the benefits of electric vehicles, visit pacificpower.net/ev.
In addition to the electric vehicle charging station grant program, Pacific Power also announced a new free electric charging station technical assistance program. The program is for non-residential customers interested in installing charging equipment and need help evaluating options and costs. The technical assistance program is available at no cost to customers and includes a site visit, analysis of electric vehicle technology options, costs, rates, and best practices for siting, configuring, installing and managing equipment.
“The electric vehicle technical assistance program is a first step for businesses, local governments and non-profits interested in installing charging equipment but do not know where to start,” said Scott. “Once the analysis is complete and they receive the report, the business could apply for a charging station grant to help pay for the costs.”
For more information and to apply for the technical assistance program, visit pacificpower.net/env/ev/charging-station-technical-assistance.html
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Media Contact: April 16, 2019
Pacific Power media line FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
800-570-5838
Pacific Power brings new metering technology to Central Oregon starting April 29
The new meters help shorten outages, provide daily usage data, and keep Oregon a leader in using clean, renewable energy.
BEND, Ore. — Pacific Power is bringing more efficient and effective smart meters to residential and business customers in Central Oregon, replacing thousands of aging electric meters throughout the spring and summer.
About 76,000 new meters will be installed in Bend, Culver, Madras, Metolius, Powell Butte, Prineville, Redmond, Terrebonne, and Warm Springs. The installations are set to begin the week of April 29 and will continue through early fall. The project is part of a statewide rollout of 590,000 smart meters which began in January 2018 in Independence, Oregon. To date, meter upgrades have been made for approximately two-thirds of customers.
“We’re installing smart meters here locally as part of an upgrade for the homes and businesses we serve,” said Matt Chancellor, Pacific Power’s regional business manager for Central Oregon. “The meters offer customers greater insight into their energy usage and help promote energy savings – a benefit that supports the City of Bend and the surrounding area in helping to meet energy goals for the future.”
The new smart meters will:
Nationwide, more than 70 million smart meters are installed at homes and businesses, which includes half of all households in the U.S. Smart meters are a key component to updating the energy grid originally built for technology from 100 years ago. They also help Pacific Power hold down operating costs, improve customer service and reliability while maintaining the highest standards of security and customer privacy.
“This upgrade brings the future of reliable and efficient power to our region and to our state,” said Chancellor. “We are connecting communities throughout Oregon, improving the way we power our customers’ lives both at home and at work.”
Access to daily energy usage information will be available to customers via a secure website. The near real-time energy usage information will let customers better understand what is driving their electric bills and help them make decisions that can save energy and money. This capability will come about six weeks after a new meter is installed.
Here’s what customers can expect during the installation process:
If customers have any concerns, have not received the proper series of notices or have any reason to think a notification is not legitimate, customers should hang up and call Pacific Power’s customer service at 1-800-221-7070 immediately to verify whether they are scheduled for an installation.
Additional information, including installation updates are available at www.pacificpower.net/smartmeter. Customers can also call 866-869-8520 for help with any questions.
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About Pacific Power
Pacific Power provides electric service to more than 740,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. The company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with 1.9 million customers in six western states Information about Pacific Power is available on the company’s website, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube pages, which can be accessed via pacificpower.net.
Advisory for Thursday, April 18
Press Briefing Call Regarding the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative
Utilities and municipalities in three western states join in unprecedented collaboration to tackle harmful emissions
WHAT: Electric utilities and municipalities from California, Oregon and Washington will host a press briefing to announce a joint effort aimed at curbing emissions from medium- and heavy-duty truck traffic up and down the West Coast from the Mexico to Canada borders.
WHEN: 10 a.m., April 18th
WHERE: Moderated conference call.
WHO: A panel of leaders representing the three states, including:
BACKGROUND: The goods-movement industry is crucially important to the economies of the three West Coast states, but it is also a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to supporting their own states’ air quality and climate goals, nine electric utilities and two agencies representing 27 municipal electric utilities are coming together like never before to tackle air pollution and climate change along the western seaboard.
CALL-IN DETAILS: For call-in number, password and background information, please RSVP to iffo@sce.com">paul.griffo@sce.com.
Media contact:
Tom Gauntt, PacifiCorp
503-813-7291
Tom.Gauntt@pacificorp.com
PacifiCorp commits $20 million in Lewis River salmon and steelhead habitat improvements under preliminary federal decision announced April 12
PORTLAND, Ore.—April 12, 2019— Under the terms of preliminary decisions issued today by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), PacifiCorp will commit more than $20 million over the next decade to improve salmon and steelhead habitat in the Lewis River watershed.
“These decisions which are based on extensive scientific studies will have significant and long-lasting benefits for salmon and steelhead that call the Lewis River drainage home,” said Mark Sturtevant, managing director, PacifiCorp Renewable Resources. “Conserving fish habitat and enhancing fish populations in the Pacific Northwest is important to our communities. Our mission is to conserve this fish habitat and enhance salmon and steelhead populations while producing the low-cost, emission-free electricity our customers count on and care about.”
Background
The decisions from NMFS and USFWS come 10 years after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a 50-year federal license to operate the Lewis River Hydroelectric project, which generates enough electricity to supply about 300,000 average Northwest homes annually. The license resulted in more than $100 million in fish passage investments at Swift and Merwin dams by PacifiCorp, all dedicated to opening up more than 100 miles of historic salmon and steelhead habitat upstream of Swift dam.
In 2012, PacifiCorp and other parties commenced environmental studies to determine appropriate next steps to conserve salmon and steelhead in the Lewis River. With today’s preliminary decisions, the federal agencies have indicated that PacifiCorp should develop a plan to implement habitat improvements in the Lewis River basin in lieu of installing additional fish passage facilities into Merwin Reservoir. The agencies will review and approve these plans prior to their implementation. The agencies will consider whether to require additional fish passage facilities into Yale Reservoir in the future.
The agencies notified PacifiCorp and other parties through letters sent to the parties on April 12, 2019, that habitat improvements in the Lewis River, in combination with the existing successful fish passage facilities already in operation, should proceed. PacifiCorp and the agencies will monitor and evaluate habitat improvements over the coming decade to determine the best course of action for the Yale reservoir area.
These additional investments in habitat conservation will include habitat restoration projects such as creating and improving spawning beds; creating refuge for juvenile fish to grow and mature; and improving and protecting riparian areas that generate food and provide shade.
PacifiCorp will develop a plan to implement required habitat improvements that will be reviewed and approved by the agencies. PacifiCorp will then submit this plan to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for its consideration. After final decisions are issued by the federal agencies on the plan, PacifiCorp will establish a process with local stakeholders to identify and select projects in conjunction with the federal agencies.
“Environmental stewardship is one of PacifiCorp’s highest values,” said Sturtevant. “Working under this decision will allow us to continue making the kind of strategic investments that mean so much to the ecosystems we value and the communities we serve.”
About PacifiCorp
PacifiCorp is one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, serving more than 1.9 million customers in the West. PacifiCorp operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington and California, and as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho.
Contact: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tom Gauntt, Pacific Power April 3, 2019
503-813-7291
PORTLAND, Ore. — Spring weather may inspire us to don gloves, grab a shovel and tackle some serious outdoor projects. Pacific Power applauds your spirit, but also urges you to take one important safety step before hitting the dirt: dialing 8-1-1 before doing any digging.
“Installing a mailbox or post for a deck or planting a tree are among the many commonplace projects that should trigger a call to 8-1-1,” said Steven Harkin, Pacific Power’s director of safety and training, referring to the national toll-free Call Before You Dig phone number. “Those may seem like simple, harmless maintenance projects, but the hazards are very real when potentially dealing with underground power lines.”
A national survey recently found that 42 percent of residents planning a digging project fail to call 8-1-1. That means thousands will put themselves and their communities at risk by not calling 8-1-1 a few days beforehand to learn the approximate location of underground utilities.
The national public opinion survey of homeowners conducted in March by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), the national association dedicated to protecting underground utility lines, people who dig near them, and their communities, also revealed the most popular planned projects cited among surveyed homeowners who plan to dig include:
Pacific Power and its sister utility in the mountain states have approximately 20,000 miles of underground cable in the West. There are nearly 20 million miles of underground utility lines in the United States. These buried facilities, including gas, water, sewer, cable TV, high-speed Internet, landline telephone, provide the services Americans depend on for their basic everyday needs. But if you don’t know where they are buried before you dig, you are in danger. Even if you are lucky enough to not be harmed, you could be responsible for causing a service outage in your neighborhood—and potentially be responsible for the substantial repair costs.
If you are planning a job that requires digging, even if hiring a professional, a call to 8-1-1 is required before work begins. The 8-1-1 service is free and couldn’t be easier. It’s a Federal Communications Commission-designated national one-call number that connects a caller from anywhere in the country to the appropriate local one-call center. The one-call center then alerts local underground facility owners so they can mark the approximate location of their lines with paint or flags.
To learn more about electrical safety or to order free electrical safety materials, call Pacific Power’s public safety department at 800-375-7085 or visit pacificpower.net/safety.
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About Pacific Power
Pacific Power provides electric service to nearly 750,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. Our goal is to provide our customers with value for their energy dollar, and safe, reliable electricity. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with almost 1.9 million customers in six western states. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net.