Who We Are
Growing a Sustainable Energy Future
In 1999, Oregon lawmakers and citizens envisioned a future with Oregon homes and businesses powered by clean, affordable energy. They established stable, consistent funding to help Oregonians invest in energy efficiency and renewable resources. A new nonprofit organization—Energy Trust of Oregon—was created to lead the way.
A decade later, Oregon has built a solid foundation for its clean energy future and Oregonians are realizing the associated economic and environmental benefits.
Every day, Energy Trust cash incentives, information and services help customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural and Cascade Natural Gas manage energy costs, increase comfort and protect the environment. Since 2002, Oregonians participating in our programs have saved nearly $600 million by making energy-efficiency improvements and generating clean, renewable power. In 2009 alone, Oregon households and businesses saved nearly $165 million.
The benefits are far reaching.
Our work helps keep energy costs as low as possible for all Oregonians. When customers use less energy or tap renewable sources, utilities avoid buying more expensive energy. Increasingly, utilities rely on Energy Trust savings from conservation and efficiency to meet future energy needs for their customers at a far less cost than building new fossil fuel power plants—about 1/5 the cost for electricity and 1/3 the cost for natural gas.
Energy Trust programs and services also deliver significant economic and environmental benefits to Oregonians. Since 2002, our investments created almost 2,300 Oregon jobs, and stimulated $76 million in wages and $11 million in new business income. Our network of nearly 1,500 trade ally contractors are important contributors to local economies across the state.
Since 2002, Energy Trust has helped Oregonians avoid emitting more than four million tons of carbon dioxide emissions—the equivalent of removing 750,000 cars from our roads for one year.
Our mission
To help Oregonians benefit from saving energy and tapping renewable resources by providing energy solutions that save dollars and protect the environment.
Our history
Energy Trust of Oregon, Inc., began operation in March 2002, charged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) with investing in cost-effective energy conservation, helping to pay the above-market costs of renewable energy resources, and encouraging energy market transformation in Oregon.
Energy Trust funds come from a 1999 energy restructuring law, which required Oregon's two largest investor-owned utilities to collect a three percent “public purpose charge” from their customers. The law also dedicated a separate portion of the public-purpose funding to energy conservation efforts in low-income housing energy assistance and K-12 schools.
In addition to its work under the 1999 energy restructuring law, Energy Trust administers gas conservation programs for residential and commercial customers of NW Natural (as of 2003) and Cascade Natural Gas Corporation (as of 2006).
Our goals
As part of its oversight of Energy Trust, the OPUC has adopted performance measures against which to benchmark Energy Trust's performance. For 2010, these measures are:
- Save at least 31 average megawatts of electricity, computed on a three-year rolling average basis at a levelized cost of no more than 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour
- Save at least 1,800,000 therms of gas, computed on a three-year rolling average basis at a levelized cost of no more than 60 cents per therm
- Secure at least 3 aMW of new renewable resources per year, computed on a three-year rolling average, from a variety of small-scale projects
- Earn an unqualified audit opinion
- Keep administrative and program support costs below 11 percent of annual revenues
- Maintain a reasonable level of customer satisfaction, as measured by surveys, and maintain statistics on complaints
- Report the benefit/cost ratio for conservation acquisition programs based on the utility system perspective and societal perspective; report any significant mid-year changes in benefit/cost performance
Download a copy of the OPUC performance measures in effect for 2008, 2009 and 2010.