PGE Boardman Power Plant Operations Time Line; Good Regional Hydropower Performance Means Lower Market Prices Than in Winter Months, Negating Immediate Need for Boardman to Go Back into Production
PORTLAND, Ore., May 01, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR) today announced its coal-fired Boardman Power Plant will remain offline for most of May. Portland General Electric (PGE) had previously stated the Boardman plant, which has been out of service since October 22, 2005, for repairs, would be ready to operate around the end of April 2006. However, with the favorable power market conditions, the schedule for returning the plant to service has been extended in order to help reduce the plant's repair costs.
"We now have access to reasonably priced energy from the market to cover what Boardman otherwise would have been producing, so the pressure on the Boardman repair team to expedite the plant's return to service has been reduced and should lower the total cost of the outage," said Jim Lobdell, PGE vice president of power operations and resource strategy.
On Oct. 22, 2005, the Boardman Power Plant was taken offline due to excessive vibrations in the plant's steam turbine rotor. The turbine rotor was disassembled and shipped to the East Coast for repairs, then was reinstalled on schedule. While the plant was being put back into service on Feb. 6, 2006, damage occurred to the generator rotor. The generator rotor was removed and also shipped to the East Coast for repairs. Because of the low market prices for purchased power, PGE's generation experts have decided that the generator rotor should be shipped back to Oregon from the East Coast by road rather than the faster, but more expensive, air transport option.
"Since it was brought online in 1980, the Boardman Power Plant has been a reliable and efficient power plant. These two outages were extremely rare events for us," said Stephen Quennoz, PGE vice president of power supply. "In fact, our Boardman plant has a low forced-outage rate when compared to similar generators in the United States."
Quennoz said that during the unplanned outage period, PGE's Boardman staff has been assessing and working on cost-effective maintenance projects, which usually take place during the plant's scheduled maintenance period in the spring.
"Our goal is to have this power plant 100 percent ready to go from top to bottom when the critical pieces are reinstalled, and the plant is ready for regular operation," Quennoz said.
About Portland General Electric Company
Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 780,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit our Web site at www.PortlandGeneral.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this news release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words including, but not limited to, "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "promises," "expects," "should," "conditioned upon" and similar expressions. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including matters and events related to the timing of and effectiveness of the repairs to the Boardman turbine, the price and availability of wholesale energy and hydroelectric conditions in the region. As a result, outcomes may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to the Company on the date hereof and such statements speak only as the date hereof. The Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Prospective investors should also review the risks and uncertainties listed in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and the Company's reports on Forms 8-K and 10-Q filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, including Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and the risks described therein from time to time.
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Source: Portland General Electric Company
SOURCE: Portland General Electric Company
PGE, Portland Scott Simms, 503-464-7342 or 503-251-4099 (after hours)
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