Company: POR
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000784977-25-000055
Chunk: 43

Company: PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC CO /OR/
Filing Date: 2025-03-05
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 43
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 an employment separation. Executives have attractive opportunities with other companies or are recruited from well-compensated positions in other companies. To provide our officers with financial security to offset the risk of leaving for another company, if the employment of an eligible officer with the Company is involuntarily terminated without cause or due to a constructive termination (or a resignation for “good reason,”) in either case absent a change in control, the Severance Plan provides for the following severance payments and benefits:

• 1.5 times the annual base salary for our CEO and 1.0 times the annual base salary for non-CEO executives;

• a pro-rata portion of annual cash incentive award based on target performance and the period of the award year served; and

• a lump sum equal to 18 months of continuation coverage under COBRA for our CEO and 12 months for all other eligible officers.

For purposes of the Severance Plan, a constructive termination (or a resignation for “good reason”) includes occurrences such as a material diminution in duties or salary, or a substantial relocation. Given that none of the named executive officers has an employment agreement that provides for fixed positions or duties, or for a fixed base salary or annual incentive award, we believe a constructive termination severance trigger is needed to continue to retain and attract executives. We do not provide excise tax gross-ups on change-in-control severance benefits for any of our executives. We do not believe named executive officers should be entitled to receive their cash severance benefits merely because a change-in-control transaction occurs. Therefore, the payment of cash severance benefits is subject to a double-trigger where an actual or constructive termination of employment must also occur before payment. Severance is always subject to the execution of a release of claims and adherence to non-competition and non-solicitation covenants.

Our Severance Plan also offers additional enhanced benefits if a change in control of the Company occurs and an eligible officer experiences a qualifying termination within 24 months following the change in control event. We believe the occurrence, or expected occurrence, of a change-in-control transaction would create uncertainty regarding continued employment for named executive officers. This uncertainty would result from the fact that many change-in-control transactions result in significant organizational changes, particularly at the senior executive level. To encourage the named executive officers to remain employed with the Company during a time when their prospects for continued employment following the change in control would be uncertain, and to permit them to remain focused on the Company’s interests, if the employment of an