The CEO of Portland General Electric this week committed $75,000 to nonprofits in Clackamas County who are serving the most vulnerable during the historic winter storm and widespread power outages.
Rural Clackamas County was the hardest-hit area during the once-in-a-half-century ice storm that devastated PGE’s overhead lines and other systems, with more than 6,000 residents still without power as of Friday (though many of those were due to new outages that occurred the previous night).
Of the 420,000 customers who lost power during the Valentine’s Day storms, 144,000 were Clackamas Countians. Nearly a quarter of those affected experienced multiple outages.
On Thursday, the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners requested an update from PGE CEO Maria Pope at their regular business meeting. In addition to giving an overview of PGE’s response efforts, Pope committed $75,000 in funding from PGE and the PGE Foundation to county nonprofits for storm recovery.
PGE and the county will work together to get funds to the places where there is the most need, a press release said.
“PGE is an outstanding community partner to Clackamas County and has proven that again today,” said County Chair Tootie Smith. “They heard us and pledged not only to help our most vulnerable neighbors with services but to meet with us on a monthly basis to strengthen our response to future disruptive events and create better safeguards in our systems.”
Pope said this winter storm event required the largest restoration effort in PGE’s history and that Clackamas County was at the epicenter of the damage caused by an ice and wind combination that devastated the area.
Overall, PGE and the PGE Foundation plan to donate a total of $225,000 to help communities with storm recovery — including the $75,000 dedicated to Clackamas County.
Those hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the wildfires last fall and the recent winter storm may also be eligible for PGE’s bill assistance programs.
For more information on bill assistance programs, call PGE customer service at 503-228-6322 or 800-542-8818, or visit PGE’s website.
