Public Generating Pool

What Public Generating Pool does

Public Generating Pool (PGP) is an unincorporated joint venture formed in 1975 that operates as the collective advocacy body for nine publicly owned electric utilities, eight in Washington State and one in Oregon. Its member utilities serve approximately 1.4 million customers, generate or purchase roughly 8,000 MW of non-federal resources (96% carbon-free, 90% hydro), and account for about 45% of Bonneville Power Administration preference power purchases; four members also operate Balance Authority Areas and all participate in West Coast wholesale power markets.

PGP's core activity is policy and regulatory advocacy rather than technology development. It does not sell or license software products. Instead, it commissions technical studies, files public comments before agencies such as FERC, BPA, CAISO, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Department of Ecology, and CARB, and publishes market design principles addressing resource adequacy, greenhouse gas policy, transmission, and organized market development in the Western interconnection.

The organization is funded exclusively through member dues or assessments from its nine utility members; no commercial revenue is generated. It is staffed by a four-person team led by Executive Director Mary Wiencke, supported by regulatory, market, and energy policy analysts. PGP has no parent company, no external investors, and operates as a member-owned cooperative with no subsidiaries or funding rounds on record.

Name

Public Generating Pool

Legal name

Public Generating Pool

Website

https://publicgeneratingpool.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Public Generating Pool is a 1975-formed unincorporated joint venture of nine publicly owned electric utilities (eight in Washington, one in Oregon) that collectively advocates on resource adequacy, GHG policy, transmission, and organized market design in the Pacific Northwest.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Utilities (221), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

SIC

Electric Services (4911)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Power Districts & State/Provincial Utilities (EUADABAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Utility-Scale Generator PPAs (Project Offtake) (EUAGADAB), Pumped-Storage Hydroelectric Generation (EUACAEAC)

Keywords

• Energy policy advocacy
• Public utility coalition
• Resource adequacy
• Regulatory engagement
• Greenhouse gas policy

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Member Dues/Assessments: As an unincorporated association operating as a joint venture of nine publicly owned electric utilities, PGP is funded through member dues or assessments from its member utilities. PGP does not generate commercial revenue from product or service sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Public Generating Pool (PGP) is a joint venture of nine publicly owned electric utilities (eight in Washington, one in Oregon) that educates, advocates, and collaborates on behalf of its generator-owner members on Western power system issues. The organization focuses on state and federal greenhouse gas policy, resource adequacy, transmission, and market development through regulatory comments, commissioned studies, and stakeholder engagement.

Product overview

Public Generating Pool (PGP) is not a product company; it is a coalition of nine publicly owned electric utilities (eight in Washington, one in Oregon) formed in 1975 as an unincorporated joint venture. PGP's activities center on member advocacy, policy development, regulatory engagement, and publishing studies and reports on energy markets, resource adequacy, greenhouse gas policy, and market development in the Pacific Northwest. The organization does not offer commercial software products or services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Studies and Reports Published analytical studies and reports on energy policy topics including resource adequacy, greenhouse gas policy, market development, and organized markets, made available to members and the broader stakeholder community.
• Public Comments and Regulatory Engagement Formal public comments submitted to regulatory agencies and market operators including Washington Department of Ecology, UTC, Commerce, CAISO, BPA, FERC, and CARB on market development, greenhouse gas policy, resource adequacy, and transmission expansion issues.

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Energy+Environmental Economics (E3)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2024A broad coalition of utilities and independent power producers in the Pacific Northwest, including PGP, commissioned E3 to examine changes in the region's resource mix, evaluate near-term needs for capacity, develop least-cost resource portfolios, and identify potential barriers to meeting regional reliability and greenhouse gas emissions goals.
• Western Power Trading ForumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024PGP partnered with Western Power Trading Forum and Energy Strategies to develop information for members and the stakeholder community on tools used to manage market seams in other parts of the country and how those tools may be applied to seams between day-ahead markets in the West.
• PacifiCorpcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 August 2020PGP collaborated with PacifiCorp to sponsor a study by The Analysis Group analyzing different regulatory approaches and their impacts on electricity market participation for greenhouse gas reduction policies.
• Energy NorthwestcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019PGP collaborated with Energy Northwest to sponsor a study investigating approaches to simultaneously achieve environmental and economic goals in the electric sector through least-cost planning methodology.
• Puget Sound Energy, Avista, NorthwesterncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019PGP collaborated with Puget Sound Energy, Avista, and Northwestern to sponsor a study examining the adequacy of the power system in 2018, 2030, and 2050 under different decarbonization levels.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• National Rural Electric Cooperative Association: National trade association serving approximately 900 electric cooperatives across the U.S. Shares PGP's mission of advocacy on behalf of consumer-owned, distribution-focused electric utilities at FERC, DOE, and Congress, with comparable member-funded, non-commercial revenue model.
• Western Power Trading Forum: Regional member-funded trade association focused on Western electricity market design, seams issues, and policy — explicitly a PGP partner (jointly published the Western Day-Ahead Seams Market Exploration study). Same advocacy/educational model and overlapping member utilities.
• American Public Power Association: National trade association for the ~2,000 community- and state-owned public power utilities in the U.S. Like PGP, APPA exists to advocate for consumer-owned utilities on federal and state energy policy, regulatory engagement, and resource adequacy — making it the closest national-level peer to PGP.

Others

• Energy Northwest: Joint operating agency formed by Washington public utilities (including several PGP members) to jointly own generation assets such as the Columbia Generating Station. Direct PGP partner on least-cost planning studies, with overlapping member base but operating-asset rather than pure-advocacy focus.
• Northwest Energy Coalition: Regional advocacy alliance promoting clean energy and energy efficiency across the Pacific Northwest. Engages in overlapping regulatory proceedings (CETA, BPA, resource planning) but from a consumer/environmental perspective rather than utility-owner perspective like PGP.

Broad incumbents

• Edison Electric Institute: National trade association representing all U.S. investor-owned utilities. While not representing consumer-owned utilities like PGP, EEI engages in similar federal advocacy (FERC, tax policy, transmission) and operates at a much larger scale with broader industry scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Public Generating Pool