Legislative Issues in Resource Planning

Integrated resource planning (IRP) may be defined as the development of demand-side and supply-side options that result in maximum benefits for consumers. State regulators can choose to require IRP plans or to encourage their development as part of a utility's energy conservation efforts. One legislative initiative that may affect resource planning is the National Energy Strategy. Published by the Bush Administration in February 1991, it stated that IRP should provide a framework for giving consumers and producers appropriate incentives to make efficient consumption and production decisions and facilitate competition among providers of both electricity generation and demand reduction services. The report also stated that the Department of Energy (DOE) would encourage the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to promote IRP in its wholesale rate making, including transmission transactions for third-party suppliers.