Fair Value of Financial Instruments (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Fair Value of Financial Instruments [Abstract]

Fair Value of Financial Instruments, Policy [Policy Text Block]

PGE determines the fair value of financial instruments, both assets and liabilities recognized and not recognized in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheets, for which it is practicable to estimate fair value as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, and then classifies these financial assets and liabilities based on a fair value hierarchy. The fair value hierarchy is used to prioritize the inputs to the valuation techniques used to measure fair value. These three broad levels and application to the Company are discussed below:

Level 1 — Quoted prices are available in active markets for identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date.

Level 2 — Pricing inputs include those that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace as of the reporting date.

Level 3 — Pricing inputs include significant inputs which are unobservable for the asset or liability.

Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement requires judgment, and may affect the valuation of fair value assets and liabilities and their placement within the fair value hierarchy.

PGE recognizes any transfers between levels in the fair value hierarchy as of the end of the reporting period. Changes to market liquidity conditions, the availability of observable inputs, or changes in the economic structure of a security marketplace may require transfer of the securities between levels.

Allocation of Financial Asset to Hierarchy Levels [Policy Text Block]

Trust assets held in the Nuclear decommissioning and Non-qualified benefit plan trusts are recorded at fair value in PGE’s consolidated balance sheets and allocated to securities that are exposed to interest rate, credit and market volatility risks. These assets are classified within the fair value hierarchy based on the following factors:

Money market funds — PGE invests in money market funds that seek to maintain a stable net asset value. These funds invest in high-quality, short-term, diversified money market instruments, short-term treasury bills, federal agency securities, certificates of deposits, and commercial paper. Money market funds held in the Nuclear decommissioning trust are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as the securities are traded in active markets of similar securities but are not directly valued using quoted market prices.

Debt securities — PGE invests in highly-liquid United States treasury securities to support the investment objectives of the trusts. These securities are classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy due to the availability of quoted prices for identical assets in an active market as of the reporting date.

Fair values for municipal debt and corporate credit securities are classified as Level 2 as prices are determined by evaluating pricing data such as broker quotes for similar securities and adjusted for observable differences. Significant inputs used in valuation models generally include benchmark yield and issuer spreads. The external credit rating, coupon rate, and maturity of each security are considered in the valuation as applicable.

Equity securities — Equity mutual fund and common stock securities are primarily classified as Level 1 in the fair value hierarchy due to the availability of quoted prices for identical assets in an active market as of the reporting date. Principal markets for equity prices include published exchanges such as NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Certain mutual fund assets included in commingled trusts or separately managed accounts are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as pricing inputs are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace as of the reporting date.

Assets and liabilities from price risk management activities are recorded at fair value in PGE’s consolidated balance sheets and consist of derivative instruments entered into by the Company to manage its exposure to commodity price risk and foreign exchange rate risk, in order to reduce volatility in net power costs for the Company’s retail customers. For additional information regarding these assets and liabilities, see Note 4, Price Risk Management.

For those assets and liabilities from price risk management activities classified as Level 2, fair value is derived using present value formulas that utilize inputs such as quoted forward prices for commodities and interest rates. Substantially all of these assumptions are observable in the marketplace throughout the full term of the instrument, can be derived from observable data, or are supported by observable levels at which transactions are executed in the marketplace. Instruments in this category include over-the-counter forwards and swaps.

Assets and liabilities from price risk management activities classified as Level 3 consist of instruments for which fair value is derived using one or more significant inputs that are not observable for the entire term of the instrument. These instruments consist of longer term over-the-counter swap derivatives. Commodity option contracts whose fair value is derived using standardized valuation techniques, such as Black-Scholes, are also classified as Level 3 and represent an immaterial portion of the Company’s Level 3 fair value measurements. Inputs into the valuation of commodity option contracts include forward commodity prices, forward interest rates, and historic volatility and correlation factors.

Fair Value Transfer, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Transfers out of Level 3 occur when the significant inputs become more observable, such as when the time between the valuation date and the delivery term of a transaction becomes shorter. PGE records transfers in and transfers out of Level 3 at the end of the reporting period for all of its financial instruments. Transfers from Level 2 to Level 1 for the Company’s price risk management assets and liabilities do not occur as quoted prices are not available for identical instruments. As such, the Company’s assets and liabilities from price risk management activities mature and settle as Level 2 fair value measurements

Debt, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Long-term debt is recorded at amortized cost in PGE’s consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of long-term debt is classified as a Level 2 fair value measurement and is estimated based on the quoted market prices for the same or similar issues or on the current rates offered to PGE for debt of similar remaining maturities