Western support makes planning manageable

Whether a person loves to map out intricate strategies or dreads the mere thought of writing a simple outline, planning is a chore, so Western Energy Services offers resources to help busy customers complete their integrated resource plans.

The Energy Policy Act of 1992 mandated that every five years, Western customers had to submit a long-term plan to Western for securing and delivering safe, reliable, low-cost power to their ratepayers. The IRP process calls for all firm power customers to forecast their future electric power demand and thoroughly analyze ways to meet it. The goal of the program is to extend Western’s existing firm power resource commitments, and to promote energy diversity and efficient practices.

In addition to the five-year plan, Western requires annual progress reports on the anniversary of the current plan’s approval. Annual progress reports describe the customer’s accomplishment of projected goals laid out in the action plan. Utilities using the small customer plan submit update letters measuring or estimating their achievements against small provider-tailored action plans.

The updated requirements, established in 2000, acknowledged the diversity of Western customers' size and structure. For example, the revised regulations allow customers that belong to member-based associations to submit IRPs and annual progress reports either individually or cooperatively. In some situations, customers may set action plan timelines instead of five-year schedules.

In place of a complete load forecast, a utility can now provide a brief summary verifying that it has conducted one. Instead of providing methods of validating whether they met IRP objectives, customers can choose to submit a brief description of measurement strategies.
Under the revisions, IRP alternatives were simplified, too. Small customer plans meet Western’s requirements for customers that sell or use less than 25 GWh per year. Utilities required by state, tribal or Federal regulation to have demand-side management, renewable energy or energy efficiency programs may be able to file those reports with Western in lieu of IRPs.

Customers get help from online tools, regional representatives
After revising the planning machine to make it more efficient, Western Energy Services came up with some useful tools to make the five-year overhauls easier. General energy services, such as Western's Power Line, publications, regional workshops and the Equipment Loan Program, provide information and technical assistance to help customers develop plans and meet goals.

Long-term firm, power customers can request IRP-specific, direct assistance from their regional representatives with the online IRP Assistance Request Form. General IRP assistance, including IRP review policies and procedures, privacy information, forms and checklists, are also among Western’s IRP Resources and Tools.

A series of Microsoft Excel-based spreadsheets developed by Western makes annual IRP updates easier, too. Individual entities can use the IRP Annual Progress Reporting Spreadsheet. The IRP Annual Progress Consolidation Spreadsheet allows multiple-member entities such as co-ops and member-based assocations to consolidate information from the Progress Reporting Spreadsheets their customers submitted.

Western created the spreadsheets for customers’ convenience, but their use is not mandatory. Customers can report the required data in any format they choose, as long as it is submitted by the annual deadline.

There are a number of choices for securing low-cost energy, including investment in plants, power purchase contracts, transmission upgrades and renewable resources. Careful planning and regular evaluations help remove the guesswork, surprise and risk from the selection process. It’s a big job, but Western helps customers do it right, because when it comes to providing power, certainty is always worth a little extra effort.