Integrated resource planning: Electric and gas utilities in the USA

During the past few years, the scope and nature of resource planning at electric utilities has changed dramatically. The scope ofplanning has expanded to consider energy efficiency and load management programmes as resources, the en vironmental costs of electricity production, and a variety of resource-selection criteria beyond elec tricity price. The nature of planning has ex panded to include regulatory commissions, nonutility energy experts, and customers, as well as utilities themselves. Similar changes are begin ning to occur at gas utilities. This paper discusses a few of the key issues related to resource planning: provision of financial incentives to utilities for successful implementation of inte grated resource plans, incorporation of environ mental factors in resource planning, bidding for demand and supply resources, development of guidelines for preparation and review of utilityintegrated resource plans, resource planning for gas utilities, and greater efforts by the US De partment of Energy to encourage integrated re source planning.