Legend
Harborton Reliability Project
Like utilities throughout the country, PGE is upgrading and expanding its aging transmission infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity from homes, transportation and changes in the way electricity is generated. These factors strain the grid, especially during extreme weather, when air conditioning or heating triggers peaks in energy demand.
The Harborton Reliability Project is a series of specific transmission projects that focus on strengthening the electric grid in and around Harborton Substation. Each project solves a specific, independent problem with the grid and will go through its own planning and review process.
The current project involves rearranging existing transmission lines near Harborton Substation, to make it into a central hub connected to three other substations. This new arrangement will allow PGE to reliably serve power to North and Northwest Portland, even when electricity demand peaks, as required by state and federal law.
These improvements in Forest Park will be entirely withiin an easement granted to PGE in 1971, in a utility corridor that has held transmission lines since the 1940s. The proposed work will require removal of 376 trees in 5 of the park’s 5,200 acres.
Proposed work:
- Shift the location of one pole, upgrade an existing 1,400’ transmission line with new wire that carries more electricity.
- Add two poles and wire for a new 1,400’ transmission line between the existing PGE line and nearby Bonneville Power Administration transmission lines.
- Rearrange the way the new and existing lines connect with Harborton Substation to make it a central hub connected to substations to the north, west and east.
Key benefits:
- Fixes issues to avoid outages in North and Northwest Portland that experts project as soon as 2028.
- Improves system safety with modern equipment, selective removal of trees that could grow or fall into power lines.
- Strengthens the system, creates additional paths for power to lessen the risk of outages when equipment fails, or during periods of high demand for electricity.
PGE first applied for land use on this project in 2024. A City of Portland Hearings Officer approved PGE’s application in early 2025. That decision was appealed to Portland City Council, which upheld the appeal in May 2025. PGE appealed the Council’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, leading to mediation between the City of Portland and intervenors who were both for and against the project. The mediation process resulted in agreement that is included in PGE’s new land use application filed in July 2026.
This application includes:
- Additional technical information and analysis including information about system reliability, alternatives, environmental considerations, and construction methods.
- Funding for an independent technical consultant to support future planning discussions between the City and PGE concerning utility infrastructure in Forest Park.
- $5.5 million for environmental mitigation, ecological enhancement and conservation, and wildfire resilience projects within and adjacent to Forest Park. The City can use these funds to support initiatives for park restoration, including removal of noxious weeds, invasive species and wildfire ladder fuels from hundreds of acres of the park. Funds could also be used for forest habitat enhancement and wetlands for the red-legged frogs in the North Management Unit of Forest Park.
- Revised site restoration plans based on ideas shared during mediation that are reasonable, technically feasible and likely to yield ecological benefits.
- A revised construction plan intended to reduce construction impacts.
When PGE’s application is determined to be complete, a public process will begin, outlined here.
Timeline
Overall Project Time
Permitting
Construction Season 1 - Access Roads and Site Development
No Work: Stabilized for Winter
Construction Season 2 - Powerline Construction
Site Restoration, Mitigation Installation
Periodic Monitoring, Reporting (End Date TBD)
Timeline is approximate and subject to change.
Need and Purpose
The Harborton Reliability Project is necessary to allow PGE to reconfigure the surrounding 230 kV system, to make Harborton Substation a central hub that connects to three other substations. This improvement will deliver the additional power needed to meet projected demand in North and Northwest Portland, as required by federal power reliability mandates. It will also fix a problematic three-terminal line between the other substations.
Photo Simulations
See realistic before-and-after photo simulations at specific project locations. Final design may change pending engineering and permit review.
There are two ways to use this tool:
- On the overview map, click the photo simulation icon at any of the locations. Click ‘view simulation’ on the photo that pops up. Click and drag the slider to see the transition between existing and proposed conditions.
- In the project segments, click the photo simulation of interest. Click and drag the slider to see the transition between existing and proposed conditions.
Information Resources
FAQs – July 2026
Given the urgency of the Harborton Reliability Project, PGE and the City of Portland agreed that PGE would submit a new land use application including additional details and information about the project’s need to maintain reliable electric service to Portland customers, and commitments to additional environmental mitigation and restoration that broadly enhance the park. PGE filed the updated application on July 9, 2026 and included the mediation agreement.
In May 2024, PGE submitted an application for the Harborton Reliability Project, which would upgrade the grid within an easement granted to PGE by the City of Portland in 1971. In March 2025, a City of Portland Hearings Officer approved PGE’s application. That decision was appealed, and the Portland City Council upheld the appeal in May 2025. PGE appealed the Council’s decision to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA), which unlocked the opportunity for mediation between the City of Portland and intervenors both for and against the project.
Together, we undertook dozens of hours of meetings and workshops that provided the opportunity to test all aspects of PGE’s projects, to ask questions and share ideas in search of the best possible outcome.
Participants included the City’s legal counsel, various staff from the Planning and Parks bureaus, with some participation from a few City Councilors and Mayor Wilson and their respective staff. PGE’s legal representative, the project manager, transmission planning and modeling experts, wildlife biologists and habitat experts participated. The Forest Park Neighborhood Association, Forest Park Conservancy and Oregon Bird Alliance and a group of individuals intervened and participated.
It is being reviewed to determine if it is complete. Once accepted and determined to be complete, public notice will post and a public hearing will be scheduled. The decision may be appealed to Portland City Council.
In summary, it includes:
- Additional technical information and analysis including information about system reliability, alternatives, environmental considerations, and construction methods.
- Funding for an independent technical consultant to support future planning discussions between the City and PGE concerning utility infrastructure in Forest Park.
- $5.5 million for environmental mitigation, ecological enhancement and conservation, and wildfire resilience projects within and adjacent to Forest Park. The City can use these funds to support initiatives for park restoration, including removal of noxious weeds, invasive species and wildfire ladder fuels from hundreds of acres of the park. They could also be used for forest habitat enhancement and wetlands for the red-legged frogs in the North Management Unit of Forest Park.
- Revised site restoration plans based on ideas shared during mediation that are reasonable, technically feasible and likely to yield ecological benefits.
- A revised construction plan intended to reduce construction impacts.
The application is being reviewed by the City to determine if more information is needed. When that review is complete, PGE will share the application on portlandgeneralprojects.com/Harborton.
It is replaced by the recent land use application.
PGE proposes shifting the location of one pole and upgrading an existing 1,400’ transmission line with new wire that can carry more electricity, and adding two new poles and a new 1,400’ transmission line to increase reliability. The upgrade would happen within existing utility corridor that has contained transmission infrastructure since the 1940s, on the northern edge of Forest Park. It’s located within an easement granted by the City of Portland to PGE in 1971. The work will require selective removal of approximately 376 trees in 5 of the park’s 5,200 total acres – The work will require selective removal of approximately 376 trees in 5 of the park’s 5,200 total acres
In 2015, we identified the need for this project through long-term system planning. This project will rearrange the existing system so that Harborton Substation becomes a central hub connected to three other substations. Those connections will help keep electricity flowing to homes and businesses in North and Northwest Portland if equipment fails and during periods of high demand for electricity, especially in extreme cold or heat.
This reliability-driven project serves homes and businesses in North and Northwest Portland. It will strengthen the power grid by fixing known reliability issues, creating a more dependable system for tens of thousands of customers who are at risk of power outages when equipment fails or during periods of high demand for electricity.
