Photo montage showing uses of electricity

Project Need

Challenges facing PGE: Cascade Crossing would:

Congested transmission system

  • Few new transmission lines have been built in past 25 years and existing transmission lines are nearing capacity.
  • The Oregon Public Utility Commission has directed PGE to explore new transmission.

Maintain a reliable flow of electricity

  • Building new transmission today will reinforce the current system and provide capacity for the future.

Increased population and demand

  • Over the past 25 years, Oregon has seen population and energy demand increase.
  • PGE estimates that user demand will continue to increase.

Help PGE meet Oregon’s growing energy needs

  • New transmission is essential to provide electricity for new businesses and homes that will be created by this growth.

Meeting Oregon’s Renewable Energy Standard

  • Fifteen percent of PGE’s power must be from renewable energy sources by 2015, 20 percent by 2020 and 25 percent by 2025.
  • Wind projects east of the Cascades have filed interconnection requests, seeking to connect their proposed projects to Cascade Crossing. PGE must respond to these requests, under the terms of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Open Access Transmission Tariff.

Connect renewable energy-generating sources east of the Cascades to the Willamette Valley

  • This project will help PGE meet Oregon’s renewable energy requirements.
  • PGE is committed to reducing climate change by adding more renewable power to its energy portfolio.

Planning for Cascade Crossing

PGE predicts that customer energy demand will continue to increase. PGE has proposed multiple energy planning strategies to meet this demand, which are outlined in its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

PGE’s IRP describes the utility’s plan to meet customers’ electricity needs over the next 20 years. The integrated resource planning process is overseen by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.

Energy efficiency is a key part of PGE’s resource planning. However it is one tool in the energy planning toolkit, and even with aggressive energy goals, more transmission will be needed to ensure future reliability.