Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) 2.0

Optimizing Distributed, Policy, Digital Grid and Cyber Inputs

August 23-24, 2021 | Online ::

The traditional least-cost integrated resource planning (IRP) paradigm – built largely around supply and demand resource modeling – is no longer sufficient for utilities and other power system organizations that develop IRPs.  These long-range planning efforts and documents must confront multiple challenges prompted by the convergence of the power industry’s past, present and future.  State-of-the-art IRPs must now emphasize coordination among the supply, transmission, and distribution planning domains.  Also, they must address grid transformation and cyber elements for which there are not yet perfected tools and analyses. 

This program will offer a primer on converting the concepts into developing an optimum hybrid IRP that reflects contemporary and future utility requirements.  It will:

1) spell out planning concepts and methodologies

2) illustrate how they’re the same as, and different from, traditional IRPs

3) offer examples of utility IRPs that have already applied element of this integration of GT&D and optimum hybrid planning approach into the digital grid of the future

The course will provide instructive and intuitive concepts and methodologies for all interests involved in the preparation and adoption of an IRP – utilities, consultants and software organizations, state regulatory staff, stakeholder groups and how the results can and should be used by states, NARUC and FERC as a tool.

Learning Outcomes

• Assess how the integration of GT&D and optimized hybrid IRP elements and characteristics compare and differ from traditional IRPs
• Evaluate drivers for an integrated GT&D and optimized hybrid IRP
• Identify why, where and how integrated GT&D and optimized hybrid IRPs are in development
• Discuss and illustrate how to build the integrated GT&D IRP and optimized hybrid base case
• Examine what changes about load forecasting, modeling and analytics
• Determine the means and processes by which the preferred resources are selected and put in service
• Analyze a case study with application of integrated GT&D and optimized hybrid IRP principles
• Identify some of the potential planning tools and resources that might be used to develop the optimum hybrid IRP
• Employ strategies to incorporate measures that address digital grid and cyber protection attributes

Monday, August 23, 2021 : Central Time

9:00 – 9:15 a.m. :: Overview and Introductions

9:15 – 10:30 a.m. :: Morning Session

Foundation & Premises of Optimum Hybrid IRP

• Context
  • Past to present – Review of traditional IRP elements and characteristics
  • Present to future – integrated GT&D and optimum hybrid IRP elements and characteristics
  • Identification of similarities and differences
  • Traditional top down (central station) planning vs bottom up (DER) planning vs optimum hybrid planning

Howard Smith, IRP Specialist, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

10:30 – 10:45 a.m. :: Morning Break

10:45 – 11:30 a.m. :: Morning Session (con’t)

• Drivers of Integrated GT&D and Optimum Hybrid IRP
  • Digital/cyber operations environment
  • Regulatory
  • Economic
  • Operations
  • Technology
  • Customer and stakeholder
  • Environmental
• Why, Where and How Integrated GT&D and Optimum Hybrid IRPs Are In Development
  • Jurisdictions
  • Utilities and other power planning entities

Howard Smith, IRP Specialist, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

11:30 – 12:30 p.m. :: Incorporating Energy Efficiency & Demand Side Management

• Overview of conservation potential assessment (CPA) in IRP
• CPA – methodology
• Electric potential components
  • Energy efficiency
  • Demand response
  • Distributed solar PV
• CPA input to IRP modeling

Brian Hedman, Principal, Cadmus

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:15 – 5:00 p.m. :: Afternoon Session

1:15 – 2:45 p.m. :: Constructing an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP

• Building the Base Case
  • Assessing the available and anticipated supply (generation) and demand-side options
  • Assessing the available and anticipated transmission system
  • Assessing the available and anticipated distribution system
  • New assessments
  • Forecasting
  • Data

Howard Smith, IRP Specialist, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. :: Duke Energy Integrated System & Operations Planning Development Efforts (ISOP) Case Study

Michael Rib, Director – Integrated Optimization (ISOP), Duke Energy

Eugene Moore, Senior Project Manager – Advanced Distribution Planning, Duke Energy

4:00 – 5:00 p.m. :: Entergy Case Study

Andrew Owens, Director – Regulatory Research, Entergy

5:00 p.m. :: Course Adjourns for Day

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

9:00 – 12:15 am :: Morning Session

9:00 – 9:45 am :: Constructing an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP (cont’d)

• Risks and uncertainty
  • Net present value (NPV)
• Reliability vs resiliency
  • Reserve margins – summer vs winter
  • Resource adequacy and operating reserves
  • Weather
• Analyses
• Outputs
• Stakeholder (internal and external) inputs

Howard Smith, IRP Specialist, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

9:45 – 10:45 am :: Constructing an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP (cont’d)

• Modeling
  • Production cost
  • Transmission
  • Distribution area
  • Feeder
  • Net present value (NPV)

Santiago Grijalva, Chairman, ProsumerGrid

10:45 – 11:00 a.m. :: Morning Break

11:00 am – 12:15 p.m. :: Constructing an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP (cont’d)

• Embedding Future Technologies and Policy Directives
  • Electrification
  • De-carbonization
  • Infrastructure expansion, failure or under-investment
  • Storage
  • Technology
  • Supply chain
  • Climate change

Joseph Stekli, Principal Technical Leader & Program Manager – LCRI, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

12:15 – 1:00 p.m. :: Lunch Break

1:15 – 4:45 p.m. :: Afternoon Session

1:15 – 2:45 p.m. :: Implementing an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP

• Decision-making and Actionability
• What Does an Integrated GTD and Optimum Hybrid IRP Look Like?
• Resource Assignment
• What Next?
  • Planning tools and resources

Howard Smith, IRP Specialist, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

2:30 – 2:45 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

2:45 – 3:15 p.m. :: Attendee Forum: Identifying Legislative and Policy Barriers & Opportunities to Advanced IRP Development

3:15 – 4:45 p.m. :: SME Panel on Identifying Legislative/Policy Barriers & Opportunities to Advanced IRP Development

Moderator: Howard Smith, Principal, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

The Hon Tricia Pridemore, Commissioner, GA Public Service Comm’n

Kirsten Verclas, Program Director – Electricity, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)

Joseph Stekli, Principal Technical Leader & Program Manager – LCRI, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Santiago Grijalva, Chairman, ProsumerGrid

Andrew Owens, Director – Regulatory Research, Entergy

4:45 p.m. :: Course Adjournment

Howard Smith, IRP Principal, Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting

Howard Smith is a resource planning veteran whose career spans 40-plus years and five utilities. For the past two years, he has been Principal at Renewable and Grid Edge Consulting.  He started the firm, which specializes in advising utilities and other organizations in the power industry on matters relating to renewable and distributed energy resources, in 2019.  Preceding that, Mr. Smith spent four decades in multiple positions at the Southern Company and its operating utilities.  His roles over the years included serving in these capacities:

• Manager of Distributed Energy Resource & Grid Edge Policy
• Manager of Resource Planning and Demand Response Operations
• Transmission Substation Design
• Transmission, Generation and Market Planning
• Metro Team Manager for Key Accounts 
• Manager of Technical Sales
• Manager of Resource Planning and Demand Response Operations

He also held positions at Duke Power, including as Quality Assurance/Special Project Engineer in Distribution and as Distribution Staff Engineer.  In support of the industry, Mr. Smith has served on the Advisory Council for the Smart Electric Power Alliance (SEPA), as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Association of Demand Response & Smart Grid (ADS), and on the Alabama Governor’s Advisory Team for Industrial Energy Efficient and CHP.

Santiago Grijalva, Chairman, ProsumerGrid

Dr. Sanitago Grijalva is Chairman of ProsumerGrid.  He has more than 20 years of experience in the power systems industry. Dr. Grijalva is a Professor and the Director of the Advanced Computational Electricity Systems Laboratory (ACES) at Georgia Tech. From 2013-2014, he served at NREL as founding Director of the Power System Engineering Center (PSEC), responsible for $20M/year on grid integration research. In the past, he also contributed to the growth of PowerWorld, a highly successful simulation software company used by utilities around the world.

Michael Rib, Director – Integrated Optimization (ISOP), Duke Energy

Michael Rib is Director of Integrated Optimization (ISOP) at Duke Energy, in which capacity he has served since early 2019.  He has worked at Duke and its predecessor Progress Energy for nearly 15 years in various roles relating to program and regulatory strategies.  Preceding that, he was on the management staff of FP&L for two decades, serving as Director of Resource Planning in his final role.  For a period between his engagement with the utilities, he was President of HiTech Home.

Eugene Moore, Senior Project Manager – Advanced Distribution Planning, Duke Energy

Gene Moore is Senior Project Manager of Advanced Distribution Planning at Duke Energy.

Brian Hedman, Principal, Cadmus

Brian Hedman is a Principal at Cadmus, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry. He has successfully managed hundreds of energy efficiency and demand-side management (DSM) projects, ranging from evaluations of residential and small commercial incentive programs to studies for large commercial and industrial custom programs.  He was previously a leader at PacifiCorp, where he managed rates and regulation, DSM policy, and integrated resource planning for two decades. While there, he led the development of PacifiCorp’s IRP and was a member of the company’s Environmental Policy Advisory Committee, where he was responsible for establishing policy and gaining regulatory approval for PacifiCorp’s energy efficiency programs.  He holds a master’s degree in economics from Portland State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington. His work has been published in The Electricity Journal, Public Utilities Fortnightly and various conference proceedings.

Andrew Owens, Director – Regulatory Affairs, Entergy

Andrew Owens serves as Director of Regulatory Affairs for Entergy Louisiana, LLC and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana, LLC, which are both vertically-integrated utilities regulated by the Louisiana PSC and combined serve more than one million electric and gas customers in the state.  He is responsible for managing on-going interactions with regulators and external stakeholders on such matters as rate actions, resource certifications, and rulemakings including those related to renewable energy, integrated resource planning, and energy efficiency.  Prior to joining Entergy Corp in 1998, Mr. Owens worked in environmental consulting.  He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State U. and received an M.S. in Management from Georgia Tech. 

Joseph Stekli, Program Manager – LCRI, Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI)

Joseph (Joe) Stekli is a Program Manager for LCRI at EPRI with responsibilities for managing the technical work portfolio under the initiative. Prior to LCRI, he had responsibilities for technical and economic R&D across EPRIs renewable technology portfolio.  He joined EPRI in 2017.  Prior to joining EPRI, Mr. Stekli spent one year at DARPA as the second hire into DARPAs newly formed Commercial Strategy Team within the DARPA Directors Office. There he helped develop strategies and processes to more efficiently transfer DARPA-developed technology to the commercial sector.  Preceding his role at DARPA, he spent seven years with the U.S. Dept of Energy and six years in semiconductor manufacturing. Most recently at DOE, he was the Program Manager for both the Concentrating Solar Power and Technology-to-Market (T2M) team within the SunShot Initiative.  Additionally, in his time at DOE Mr. Stekli was selected to be a member of the Presidents Management Council, for which he served a six-month detail in the White House Office of Management and Budget. 

Hon Tricia Pridemore, Chair, Georgia Public Service Commission

Tricia Pridemore was appointed to the Commission by Governor Nathan Deal in 2018 and won the Republican primary and the general election later that year. In addition to her duties with the Commission, she serves on the Advisory Board of the Financial Research Institute at the University of Missouri, the Gas Committee of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners and the NARUC Subcommittee on Education and Research. She is also the NARUC liaison to the University of Wisconsin School of Public Utilities.  Commissioner Pridemore is a businesswoman with a background in technology, consulting and workforce development. Since the acquisition of Accucast, the software company she founded with her husband, she served on the Georgia World Congress Center Board of Governors, the 2011 Transition team of Governor Deal and co-chaired both of Governor Deal’s Inaugural Committees in 2011 and 2015. Commissioner Pridemore formerly served as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development and started Georgia’s skilled trade initiative aimed at encouraging careers in the energy, transportation and construction trades. She was also a member of the Cobb Galleria Authority Board of Governors.  Ms. Pridemore earned a bachelor’s degree from Kennesaw State University.

Kirsten Verclas, Program Director – Electricity, National Association of State Energy Offices

Kirsten Verclas is Program Director for Electricity at the National Assoc’n of State Energy Offices.  The electricity program she leads at NASEO informs and educates the states on a wide variety of issues including grid modernization, energy security planning, microgrids and renewable energy, and cybersecurity. Prior to NASEO, Ms. Verclas was an ORISE Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, where she worked on clean energy, state and local energy policy, cybersecurity issues and emergency response. She also served as a Program Manager in the International Department of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) working on regulatory partnerships in Africa, as well as a Senior Program Manager at the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University. Ms. Verclas has written extensively on energy and climate as well as security policy in the transatlantic context. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from Franklin and Marshall College, a Master of Arts in International Relations from The George Washington University, and a Master of Science in Energy Policy and Climate from Johns Hopkins University.

We will be using Microsoft Teams to facilitate your participation in the upcoming event. You do not need to have an existing Teams account in order to participate in the broadcast – the course will play in your browser and you will have the option of using a microphone to speak with the room and ask questions, or type any questions in via the chat window and our on-site representative will relay your question to the instructor.

• IMPORTANT NOTE: After November 30 you will not be able to join a Teams meeting using Internet Explorer 11. Microsoft recommends downloading and installing the Teams app if possible. You may also use the Edge browser or Chrome.
• You will receive a meeting invitation will include a link to join the meeting.
• Separate meeting invitations will be sent for the morning and afternoon sessions of the course.
  • You will need to join the appropriate meeting at the appropriate time.
• If you are using a microphone, please ensure that it is muted until such time as you need to ask a question.
• The remote meeting connection will be open approximately 30 minutes before the start of the course. We encourage you to connect as early as possible in case you experience any unforeseen problems.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) 2.0

August 23-24, 2021 | Online

Your registration may be transferred to a member of your organization up to 24 hours in advance of the event. Cancellations must be received on or before July 23, 2021 in order to be refunded and will be subject to a US $195.00 processing fee per registrant. No refunds will be made after this date. Cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event. This credit will be good for six months from the cancellation date. In the event of non-attendance, all registration fees will be forfeited. In case of conference cancellation, EUCIs liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at 303-770-8800

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.3 CEUs for this event.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must log in each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the event to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

Case studies, PowerPoint presentations, and panel discussions will be used in this program.

Who Should Attend

• Integrated resource planning
• Resource adequacy planning
• Strategic and long-range planning
• Forecasting and analysis
• Generation and load planning
• Transmission planning
• Distribution planning
• Energy efficiency planning
• Demand response planning
• Reliability planning
• Renewable energy planning
• Environmental and GHG planning
• State regulatory and commission staff
• Carbon/emissions management teams
• Carbon/emissions market consultants and advisors
• Environmental compliance groups
• Regulatory affairs
• Asset management
• Financial analysis
• EV advocates
• Cybersecurity
• IT, IoT, TO groups
• Data Management Systems Groups (EMS, DERMS, IDMS, ADMS, etc.)
• Supply Chain