PNGC — Our Power Supplier
PNGC Power supplies power to Raft River Electric, which in turn distributes power to you! Raft River Electric is one of 25 member-owned cooperatives that jointly own PNGC Power.
PNGC Power is an Oregon-based electric generation and transmission (G & T) cooperative owned by 25 Northwest electric distribution cooperative utilities with service territory in seven western states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming).
Our company creates value for its members by providing power supply and other management services. PNGC Power is a top aggregator of geographically diverse loads in the region and became the first electric cooperative in the country to receive a power marketing license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
PNGC Power offers members a competitive advantage despite significant weather and market-related challenges. With the benefit of having some of the most experienced professionals in the energy industry and by offering advanced tools, technology, and policy leadership, we are able to serve our members’ load requirements reliably and cost-effectively. By coming together as PNGC Power, our member co-op utilities have more options than any single one of them could have alone. Member benefits include:
- More buying leverage
- Access to advanced technical capabilities
- Financial strength; backed by over $1 billion in assets of member-owners
- Risk management capability and increased control
- Ability to meet customers’ power needs in the new era of public power
PNGC member utilities have the collective clout to offer their customers reliable, low-cost power options at stable prices, now, and in the future thanks to the intense planning and forward-thinking vision of the PNGC Power Board and staff.
PNGC Power operates as a Joint Operating Entity (JOE), aggregating the members’ loads and resources and purchasing net requirements from BPA under consolidated contractual agreements. This allows us to save on costs, as we can efficiently leverage opportunities and more accurately manage and forecast, for one combined load, rather than 25 individual loads. Aggregation allows utilities, regardless of size, to engage with the expertise necessary for effective power supply management. Our new Load Following contract with BPA allows us to take full advantage of our JOE status. By combining members’ purchases we create a total system load shape that matches up well with the generation output of the Federal Base System. This flexibility and our access to power markets help us manage and mitigate power price and supply risk for members.
In October 2023, all PNGC Power members signed an Amended & Restate Membership and Requirements Power Purchase Agreement, an innovative and unique contract design that allows members to build and acquire new resources as needed, while leveraging the group size and collaborative aspects of PNGC power for the benefit of everyone. There are many uncertainties facing the region and power providers in general. This new contract gives PNGC Power members flexibility and the opportunity to be directly involved in resource decisions that make sense for each individual cooperative, while keeping wholesale energy costs as low as possible for all members.