OR utility deposit bonds.
2% of the bond amount.
Portland General Electric (PGE) will accept a surety bond in lieu of a cash security deposit for a new or high-usage electric account. For residential service, that option is one that Oregon's deposit rule, OAR 860-021-0200, specifically preserves alongside a cash deposit; PGE extends the same option to business accounts under its own credit policy. PGE sets the required amount for your account from your estimated or historical usage; premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, and the application includes a one-time credit consent that authorizes a soft pull only.
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Apply to filed in one sitting.
No long underwriting queue for a standard utility deposit bond — enter the amount PGE gave you, pay, and send the executed bond back to them. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your details, your PGE service address and account number, the deposit amount PGE set for your account, the effective date, and a one-time consent that authorizes a soft credit pull.
Approved
Most applications for this amount approve instantly. The credit consent authorizes a soft pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.
File with PGE
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email so you can submit it to Portland General Electric in place of the cash deposit. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the PGE deposit bond actually guarantees
Portland General Electric is the investor-owned electric utility serving Portland and much of the northern Willamette Valley, regulated by the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC). Like other Oregon energy utilities, PGE may require a new customer — or an existing customer whose account has run into billing trouble — to post security for the account before establishing or continuing service. For residential service, Oregon's deposit rule, OAR 860-021-0200, expressly lets a customer offer a written surety agreement instead of tying up cash with the utility; PGE extends the same surety-in-lieu option to business accounts under its own credit policy.
It is a three-party guarantee: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and Portland General Electric (the obligee). If your account becomes delinquent and PGE is left unpaid, PGE can claim against the bond up to its face amount — and if the surety pays, you repay the surety. It protects the utility and its ratepayers against unpaid balances, not your own losses.
There is no single statewide deposit figure — for a residential account, OAR 860-021-0200 caps an energy-utility deposit at one-sixth of a customer's estimated annual billing (based on prior usage or, for a new account, the equipment or space to be served); business accounts are sized by PGE's own credit policy. PGE's Credit & Collections group sets the exact amount for your account within whichever ceiling applies. Enter the figure PGE gave you; premiums are priced at 2% of that amount, with a $100 minimum, after a one-time credit consent authorizing a soft pull only.
You need this bond if you are
One application, then a quick review.
Submit the application with the deposit amount PGE set for your account, including your service address and account number. The credit consent authorizes a soft pull only, and most applications approve instantly.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Oregon bonds.
Skip the cash deposit.
Premiums cost 2% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. Enter the amount PGE set for your account and send the executed bond back the same day.