Abstract
LBNL collaborated with the Western Interstate Energy Board and the University of Texas, Austin to investigate the implications of a regional resource adequacy (RA) program on utility integrated resource planning. This report is focused on an active policy discussion to develop a novel voluntary program to share capacity resource and improve RA in the Western Interconnection. This report identifies two RA components of IRP that will be highly impacted by a regional RA program: resource capacity accreditation and RA targets. There are at least four resources that will require specific attention for their capacity credit calculation: (1) variable renewable resources, (2) demand-side resources, (3) hydropower, and (4) contracts. It will then be necessary to decide on a RA target reliability metric (e.g., a planning reserve margin) that is at least the minimum requirement in IRPs to ensure consistency in RA requirement calculations. The report finds that load forecasting and transmission expansion analyses will be moderately impacted, but that most of IRP components will not be significantly impacted. The report includes (i) a review of traditional resource adequacy practices in IRP; (ii) a case study of an existing regional RA program that interacts with IRP (Southwest Power Pool) and (iii) an overview of the NWPP regional resource adequacy proposal that is the object of this work. This paper does not (1) advocate for or against a regional RA program for the NWPP, (2) make detailed design recommendations for this program, or (3) assess its benefits and costs. This paper addresses three research questions: • How would typical IRP processes change if an LSE joined a regional RA program? • With a new regional RA program, which RA elements would remain local (i.e. within IRP) and which would become regional (i.e. within the RA program)? • How much control would LSEs and states retain over their utility resource mixes considering the influence of a regional RA program? This paper is primarily written for state regulators, public utility commission staff, and resource planners from states in the NWPP footprint that are pondering how their IRP guidelines and regulations may need to adjust to operate jointly with a regional RA program. The content of this paper may also help the NWPP RA program developer as it interacts with potential member states and utilities to understand what aspects of energy policy may be influenced by the program under development.
Highlights
Resource adequacy (RA) refers to the ability of an electric power system to meet demands for electricity using its supply‐side and demand‐side resources (NERC, 2011)
Monitoring and maintaining RA is becoming increasingly complex and challenging due to plant retirements, higher penetration of variable renewable energy resources, and COVID‐related load fluctuations that translate to higher uncertainty on the amount of generation that will be available during periods of peak demand
Regardless, one critical question for states in the Northwest Power Pool (NWPP) footprint whose utilities may join a regional RA program is how much control over resource adequacy they will have to relinquish and what the impacts are on other aspects of state energy policy
Summary
Resource adequacy (RA) refers to the ability of an electric power system to meet demands for electricity using its supply‐side and demand‐side resources (NERC, 2011). Monitoring and maintaining RA is becoming increasingly complex and challenging due to plant retirements, higher penetration of variable renewable energy resources, and COVID‐related load fluctuations that translate to higher uncertainty on the amount of generation that will be available during periods of peak demand This challenge is becoming acute in the Pacific Northwest region (PNW) due to states’ environmental policy objectives and evolving resource economics that are prompting impending retirement of coal plants (NWPCC, 2018). PacifiCorp Pend Oreille PUD Perennial Power Portland General Electric Puget Sound Energy Powerex Seattle City Light participating BAs within the NWPP footprint, a cooperative agreement to coordinate the operation of Northwest hydro facilities, Douglas PUD Energy Keepers Inc. Eugene Water & Electric Board Fortis BC.
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