Resources for Action

Through the Task Force on Comprehensive Electricity Planning, Task Force members, NARUC and NASEO staff, technical and subject matter experts, and others have developed a robust set of resources to support state decision makers in advancing aligned electricity system planning processes.

• Blueprint for State Action

  The Task Force Blueprint for State Action supports states seeking to further align electricity system planning processes in ways that meet their own goals and objectives. The Blueprint provides a step-by-step approach for states to develop and implement a plan or series of actions to better align planning processes, based on the experience of Task Force member states.

  States that may wish to leverage the resources in this Blueprint could include those that:

  1. Currently oversee multiple utility and programmatic planning processes and seek to coordinate them for greater visibility, more valuable stakeholder participation, and better-informed decision making
  2. Desire to adequately prepare for or actively increase integration of many different types of DERs—either due to ongoing customer adoption or to leverage scalable distributed technologies to defer or avoid more costly grid infrastructure upgrades
  3. Are embarking on new distribution planning efforts and want to strategically define what a distribution system planning process should encompass, while connecting it to relevant existing or future efforts such as resource planning, grid modernization, and customer-engagement programs
  4. Seek to identify how to achieve new or ambitious goals (e.g., decarbonization, electrification, resilience, clean peaks) economically by holistically considering a wide range of options

• Task Force Cohort Roadmaps

  The five Task Force Cohort Roadmaps describe five distinct visions for an ideal comprehensive electricity planning process created by Task Force members. The process is viewed from the state perspective on how to align or integrate distinct planning processes that, historically, have not significantly informed one another. Each roadmap explains one vision for aligned planning, including both procedural and analytical steps, alongside points of evidence for innovative approaches that appear in the vision.

• Opportunities to Improve Analytical Capabilities towards Comprehensive Electricity System Planning

  The Analytical Capabilities brief outlines potential data, tools, and methods for conducting integrated analyses across key points in electricity planning processes that could help achieve the visions of the Task Force. This scoping study will be used to conduct a gap analysis and develop a research agenda for approaches and capabilities in areas such as load forecasting, solution evaluation, and system optimization within planning.