Price Risk Management

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Price Risk Management Note [Abstract]

Price Risk Management

PRICE RISK MANAGEMENT

PGE participates in the wholesale marketplace in order to balance its supply of power, which consists of its own generating resources combined with wholesale market transactions, to meet the needs of its retail customers, manage risk, and administer its existing long-term wholesale contracts. Such activities include fuel and power purchases and sales resulting from economic dispatch decisions for its own generation. As a result of this ongoing business activity, PGE is exposed to commodity price risk and foreign currency exchange rate risk, where adverse changes in prices and/or rates may affect the Company’s financial position, performance, or cash flow.

PGE utilizes derivative instruments in its wholesale electric utility activities to manage its exposure to commodity price risk and foreign exchange rate risk in order to manage volatility in net power costs for its retail customers. These derivative instruments may include forward, futures, swap, and option contracts for electricity, natural gas, oil and foreign currency, which are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheet, with changes in fair value recorded in the statement of income. In accordance with ratemaking and cost recovery processes authorized by the OPUC, PGE recognizes a regulatory asset or liability to defer the gains and losses from derivative activity until settlement of the associated derivative instrument. PGE may designate certain derivative instruments as cash flow hedges or may use derivative instruments as economic hedges. PGE does not engage in trading activities for non-retail purposes.

PGE has elected to report gross on the consolidated balance sheets the positive and negative exposures resulting from derivative instruments entered into with counterparties where a master netting arrangement exists. As of December 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company had $18 million and $26 million, respectively, in collateral posted with these counterparties, consisting entirely of letters of credit.

PGE’s net volumes related to its Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities resulting from its derivative transactions, which are expected to deliver or settle at various dates through 2016, were as follows (in millions): 

	As of December 31,
	2012			2011
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	11		MWh	13		MWh
Natural gas	86		Decatherms	79		Decatherms
Foreign currency exchange	$	7	Canadian	$	6	Canadian

The fair values of PGE’s Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities consist of the following (in millions): 

	As of December 31,
	2012			2011
Current assets:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	1		$	2
Natural gas	3			17
Total current derivative assets	4		(1)	19		(1)
Noncurrent assets:
Commodity contracts:
Natural gas	2		(2)	—
Total derivative assets not designated as hedging instruments	$	6		$	19
Total derivative assets	$	6		$	19
Current liabilities:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	44		$	66
Natural gas	83			150
Total current derivative liabilities	127			216
Noncurrent liabilities:
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	38			71
Natural gas	35			101
Total noncurrent derivative liabilities	73			172
Total derivative liabilities not designated as hedging instruments	$	200		$	388
Total derivative liabilities	$	200		$	388

(1) Included in Other current assets on the consolidated balance sheets.

(2) Included in Other noncurrent assets on the consolidated balance sheet.

Net realized and unrealized losses on derivative transactions not designated as hedging instruments are classified in Purchased power and fuel in the consolidated statements of income and were as follows (in millions):

	Years Ended December 31,
	2012		2011		2010
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	56	$	117	$	127
Natural Gas	19		98		192

Net unrealized losses and certain net realized losses presented in the table above are offset within the statement of income by the effects of regulatory accounting. Of the net loss recognized in net income for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011, and 2010, $42 million, $192 million, and $258 million, respectively, have been offset.

Assuming no changes in market prices and interest rates, the following table indicates the year in which the net unrealized loss recorded as of December 31, 2012 related to PGE’s derivative activities would be realized as a result of the settlement of the underlying derivative instrument (in millions):

	2013		2014		2015		Total
Commodity contracts:
Electricity	$	43	$	28	$	10	$	81
Natural gas	80		27		6		113
Net unrealized loss	$	123	$	55	$	16	$	194

The Company’s secured and unsecured debt is currently rated at investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) and Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P). Should Moody’s and/or S&P reduce their rating on the Company’s unsecured debt to below investment grade, PGE could be subject to requests by certain wholesale counterparties to post additional performance assurance collateral, in the form of cash or letters of credit, based on total portfolio positions with each of those counterparties and some other counterparties will have the right to terminate their agreements with the Company.

The aggregate fair value of all derivative instruments with credit-risk-related contingent features that were in a liability position as of December 31, 2012 was $163 million, for which the Company had $45 million in posted collateral, consisting entirely of letters of credit. If the credit-risk-related contingent features underlying these agreements were triggered at December 31, 2012, the cash requirement to either post as collateral or settle the instruments immediately would have been $157 million.

Counterparties representing 10% or more of Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities were as follows:

	As of December 31,
	2012		2011
Assets from price risk management activities:
Counterparty A	21	%	19	%
Counterparty B	13		2
Counterparty C	11		16
Counterparty D	10		9
Counterparty E	6		13
	61	%	59	%
Liabilities from price risk management activities:
Counterparty F	24	%	23	%
Counterparty G	14		10
Counterparty H	10		6
	48	%	39	%

For additional information concerning the determination of fair value for the Company’s Assets and Liabilities from price risk management activities, see Note 4, Fair Value of Financial Instruments.