As another step toward a more sustainable future, Portland General Electric announces successful placement of $150 million in green bonds following its recent closing on a $650 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility

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Oct 01, 2021, 06:00 ET

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Portland General Electric Company (NYSE: POR) today announced the successful placement of its inaugural $150 million green bonds, part of a $400 million placement of the company's first mortgage bonds with over 50 institutional investors, which closed on September 30, 2021. The green bonds were issued under PGE's new Green Financing Framework, which allows the company to issue bonds and other debt instruments to finance or refinance eligible green projects, as described in the framework.

Proceeds of the $150 million in green bonds will be dedicated to refinancing PGE's interest in the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility, the first major renewable energy facility in North America to co-locate wind and solar generation with battery storage. The bond issuance follows the recent renewal of the company's revolving credit facility, which now includes a sustainability-linked pricing structure.

"We are investing in an energy future for our customers that is 100% clean and accessible to all. With the recent adoption of our Green Financing Framework, the issuance of our inaugural green bonds, and the closing of our sustainability-linked revolving credit facility, we have entered a new phase of our sustainability strategy," said Jim Ajello, PGE's chief financial officer. "We fully expect the debt markets will play an important role in achieving sustainability objectives by directing funds toward projects that have a meaningful impact on decarbonization and other environmental and social goals. We are pleased to be able to integrate our sustainability strategy with our financing activities."

The company's sustainability strategy, which includes a goal to achieve at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from power served to customers by 2030 and zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, is described in its 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report, available at https://investors.portlandgeneral.com/esg.

Green Bonds and Green Financing Framework

The green bonds attracted strong investor interest, closing at six times over-subscribed. Lead underwriters included Barclays, JPMorgan Chase, and BNP Paribas joined by USBank, service-disabled veteran-owned Roberts Ryan, and African American- and women-owned Siebert Williams Shank. Barclays acted as the Green Structuring Agent.

Under PGE's Green Financing Framework, proceeds of debt issuances can be used to finance or re-finance projects related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, and climate change adaptation. The framework has been reviewed by Sustainalytics, an independent global provider of ESG research and analysis. Sustainalytics issued a second-party opinion confirming that the framework aligns with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2021 and that investments in the eligible categories will lead to positive environmental impacts and advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

In line with green bond market standards, PGE will publish an annual report to track the financing of green projects and their associated environmental impacts, where feasible. The framework, together with the Sustainalytics opinion, are available on PGE's Green Financing webpage.

Sustainability-linked credit facility

On September 10, 2021, PGE amended and restated its revolving credit facility, resulting in the extension of the maturity date to September 10, 2026, and an increase in PGE's borrowing capacity to $650 million. The amendments include provisions that link the company's borrowing costs to metrics related to its non-emitting generation capacity and the percentage of management comprised of women and employees who identify as black, indigenous, and people of color.

The credit facility was provided by a syndicate of leading financial institutions. Wells Fargo acted as Sustainability Structuring Agent and Administrative Agent, and Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Barclays and U.S. Bank served as Joint Lead Arrangers and Joint Bookrunners.

About PGE

Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR) is a fully integrated energy company based in Portland, Oregon, with operations across the state. The company serves approximately 900,000 customers with a service area population of 2 million Oregonians in 51 cities. PGE owns 16 generation plants across Oregon and other Northwestern states and maintains and operates 14 public parks and recreation areas. For over 130 years, PGE has delivered safe, affordable and reliable energy to Oregonians. Together with its customers, PGE has the No. 1 voluntary renewable energy program in the U.S. PGE and its 3,000 employees are working with customers to build a clean energy future, with goals of achieving at least an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 and 100% reduction in GHG emissions by 2040. In 2021, PGE became the first U.S. utility to join The Climate Pledge. In 2020, PGE, employees, retirees and the PGE Foundation donated $5.6 million and volunteered 18,200 hours with more than 400 nonprofits across Oregon. For the eighth year in a row PGE achieved a perfect score on the 2021 Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality. For more information visit www.PortlandGeneral.com/news.

About Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility

The first major renewable energy facility in North America to co-locate wind and solar generation with battery storage, the Wheatridge Renewable Energy Facility will play a big part in getting us to our goal of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions related to the power we serve our customers by 80% by 2030. We're building this new facility in partnership with NextEra Energy Resources to accelerate Oregon's transition to a clean and reliable energy future.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements in this press 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 include statements regarding the company's investments in projects that advance its decarbonization strategy and other sustainability goals as well as other statements containing words such as "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, without limitation: demand for electricity; the sale of excess energy during periods of low demand or low wholesale market prices; operational risks relating to the Company's generation facilities, including hydro conditions, wind conditions, disruption of fuel supply, and unscheduled plant outages, which may result in unanticipated operating, maintenance and repair costs, as well as replacement power costs; failure to complete capital projects on schedule or within budget, or the abandonment of capital projects, which could result in the Company's inability to recover project costs; the costs of compliance with environmental laws and regulations, including those that govern emissions from thermal power plants; changes in weather, hydroelectric and energy markets conditions, which could affect the availability and cost of purchased power and fuel; the development of alternative technologies; changes in capital and credit market conditions, which could affect the access to and availability of cost of capital and result in delay or cancellation of capital projects or execution of the Company's strategic plan as currently envisioned; the outcome of various legal and regulatory actions; general economic and financial market conditions; severe weather conditions, wildfires, and other natural phenomena and natural disasters that could result in operational disruptions, unanticipated restoration costs, or liability for third party property damage; cyber security breaches of the Company's customer information system or operating systems, data security breaches, or acts of terrorism, which could disrupt operations, require significant expenditures, or result in claims against the Company; PGE business activities are concentrated in one region and future performance may be affected by events and factors unique to Oregon; and widespread health emergencies or outbreaks of infectious diseases, which may affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. As a result, actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Portland General Company

Contact: Mike Houlihan, PGE, 503-504-9706

SOURCE Portland General Company