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Reimagining Resource Planning

Reimagining Resource Planning

Full Title: Reimagining Resource Planning
Author(s): Lauren Shwisberg, Katerina Stephan, Mark Dyson
Publisher(s): Rocky Mountain Institute
Publication Date: January 24, 2023
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Planning the electricity system has never been more important — or more complex. Utilities are simultaneously facing unprecedented weather events, retiring aging resources, and considering a wider array of resource and grid improvement options to ensure electricity is reliable and affordable. On top of these factors, utilities and regulators are implementing changes to existing processes to achieve new policy objectives, such as prioritizing energy equity and reducing emissions.

Resource planning is a crucial opportunity for utilities, regulators, and stakeholders to shape the future electricity system. Integrated resource plans (IRPs) typically indicate the direction of the generation mix and help utilities and regulators define strategies to respond to future opportunities and risks. In this report, we identify three core qualities IRPs must maintain to help utilities and regulators evaluate resource decisions even in the context of significant change: they must be trusted, comprehensive, and aligned. To accomplish this, utilities and regulators can look to approaches that have already been tested in IRPs across the country, explored with detailed examples in the report.

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