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Meet Martha Nero

Self-description: Fit, outdoorsy and “fairly conservative-seeming for someone with an old-hippie background”

Occupation: retired, volunteers at the Red Cross

Community: Mt. Tabor area of Southeast Portland

Passion: Running. “It has been my way of keeping my life in balance.”

Number of marathons: “Twenty-one, and my husband has run 19. Strangely enough, we’ve never run one together.”

Best things about her…
…choice to move to Portland: “I just love being here. I found this little house, and it’s the longest I’ve ever lived in one place in my whole 56 years.”
…life: Being newly married and ”just learning to be real happy with where I am.”
…renewable power: “It’s something you can do for the environment without spending a lot of money.”

Source: Oregon Department of Energy, 2009 data for Green Source and Clean Wind. WECC regional resource mix, EPA eGrid 2007 v1.1 for Western Regional Resource Mix. Data for PGE System Mix may differ from WECC regional resource mix; check PortlandGeneral.com for details. All percentages are approximate and may not add up to 100% due to rounding. “New” refers to power generated from facilities that became operational after July 1999.

Customer Profile: Martha Nero

Martha Nero is an active 56-year-old Portlander who calls Southeast Portland’s Mt. Tabor neighborhood home. She retired in 2001, leaving her job as an accountant at the Red Cross to spend more time with her retired husband.

Growing up in California, Nero was familiar with wind farms, and jumped at the chance to invest in wind in Oregon.

Why did Martha decide to purchase renewable power?

According to Martha, it just made sense as something one can do for the environment without spending a lot of money. The affordability of PGE’s Clean WindSM program served as a big draw. Learning it would cost only about $3 a month, she concluded there was no reason not to participate.

What are some of Martha’s other “green” efforts?

Martha tries to limit her impact on the environment. It doesn’t hurt that she and her husband are committed runners, which keeps them out of their cars.