Integrated system planning is a pioneering effort to integrate generation, transmission, distribution, and customer/DER planning in a single holistic process. If done effectively, integrated system planning will improve reliability, affordability, and sustainability outcomes as we undertake the energy transition. E3 has spent decades working on various aspects of Integrated System Plans (ISPs): economy-wide views of electric planning, forecasting and planning for distributed energy resources, rate design and customer program design, interregional and local transmission planning, and resource adequacy and capacity expansion under deep decarbonization. ISPs unite these and other practices to balance the needs of reliability, affordability, and sustainability for power systems.
In 2023, E3 worked with Salt River Project to develop an industry-leading ISP, and we’re excited to share a new whitepaper with E3’s vision and learnings, outlining a roadmap for developing an ISP. We take a “walk jog run” approach across a few dimensions and share three case studies to zoom in on specific projects.
Integrated System Planning: Holistic Planning for the Energy Transition
This whitepaper also complements our two-part webinar series on integrated system planning:
- Our first webinar, held jointly with SRP, underscored the need for integrated system planning and showcased SRP’s experience carrying out its first-ever Integrated System Plan.
- Our second webinar detailed analytical approaches and the practical steps system planners can take to make Integrated System Planning a reality.
This whitepaper is relevant to system planners (including utilities and ISOs/RTOs), regulators, project developers, and any other stakeholders with an interest in how the electric system is planned. It answers the following questions about integrated system planning:
- How can integrated planning help with the energy transition?
- How can bulk-grid and customer/DER/distribution planning be harmonized?
- Which planning processes need to be integrated and how?
- What does integrated planning look like in practice?
- How can system planners get started?
To learn more about E3’s work in integrated system planning, you may reach Arne Olson directly at arne@ethree.com and Lakshmi Alagappan at lakshmi@ethree.com.
