Portland General Electric

As we move towards a clean energy future, Portland General Electric has a big job — and today’s young people are a big part of it.

Sector 

Regional electrical utility

Services

Corporate Signature Programs

Strategic Planning

Benchmarking

Stakeholder Engagement

Movement Mapping

Team Alignment

Strategic Messaging

As one of Oregon’s primary utilities, PGE needs to find new ways to generate and deliver reliable, affordable and safe energy. They need to help all of us understand what clean energy looks like and how to use it. And they need to make sure the clean energy transition is equitable, learning from current disparities (like the creation of urban heat islands that disproportionately impact marginalized communities).

And: they need to tap into the energy and insights of young people, as today’s influencers of adults and tomorrow’s energy workforce, decision-makers and consumers.

Enter Project Zero, an internship program that connects young adults to workforce opportunities in environmental stewardship.

Focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth who are not in school or work, the program has been connecting and supporting both interns and their host sites through paid, 6-month internships.

As the pilot stage of the program approached its close, PGE’s Community Impact team asked Perennial to help tap the insights of the program’s community to envision what’s next. Pulling together internal stakeholders, youth development organizations and environmental workforce drivers, Perennial helped PGE listen to their community, distill the implications and envision the program’s future chapters.