Administrative Rules of Montana › Department 38 - PUBLIC SERVICE REGULATION › Chapter 38.5 - UTILITY DIVISION › Subchapter 38.5.20 - Least Cost Planning - Electric Utilities › Rule 38.5.2022 - PLAN CONTENTS

Current through Register Vol. 13, July 5, 2024
(1) Resource plans
				shall contain at least the following information:
(a) A description of any changes a utility
				has made to the content of its plan or its planning process in response to the
				Commission's comments on its last plan and how the changes affect the current
				plan, along with reasoned explanations for any Commission comment with which
				the utility disagrees. Cross-references shall be provided for all
				changes.
(b) Annual electricity
				demand and energy forecasts for each year of the planning period for each major
				rate or service class; an explanation of the forecasting method(s) and
				assumptions; and the historical customer counts, population data, load data,
				and end-use data used in the forecasting process, as applicable. Changes to the
				forecasting method(s) and assumptions used in the prior plan must be thoroughly
				explained.
(c) A description and
				graphical presentation of daily and seasonal electric demand and energy
				requirements for each major rate or service class, the variability of those
				requirements, and how the utility assessed historical trends, and the potential
				for future changes in the timing and variability of electric demand and energy
				requirements in the development of the plan.
(d) A description of the electric generating
				capability and characteristics of each of the utility's existing resources. The
				description must include the generator type and fuel source, nameplate
				capacity, effective load carrying capability or other probabilistic capacity
				contribution estimate, expected annual energy production, storage capability,
				capacity factor, forced outage rate, annual emissions of carbon dioxide, online
				date, and expected retirement date. The description must include any historical
				data used to develop the reported generating capabilities and characteristics.
				The description may be in table form with accompanying explanatory text, as
				necessary.
(e) A description of the
				current average annual variable cost or contract price for each of the
				utility's existing power resources, including storage resources, and the
				expected or projected average annual variable cost or contract prices at 5-year
				increments for the planning period. The description may be in table form with
				accompanying explanatory text, as necessary.
(f) A description of the aggregate
				load-serving capability and characteristics of existing programmatic
				demand-side resources within the utility's system and a forecast of aggregate
				capability over the planning period. The description must address each
				demand-side resource program offered and its total load-serving capabilities.
				The description may be in table form with accompanying explanatory text, as
				necessary. The description must provide the following historical information
				for each year since the utility's last plan:
(i) program expenditures;
(ii) incentive payments;
(iii) demand and energy savings and the
				methods and assumptions used to estimate the savings;
(iv) measures of the cost-effectiveness of
				the program, including avoided costs, and the techniques used to estimate those
				costs;
(v) annualized cost of saved
				energy and capacity and the techniques used to estimate those costs;
				and
(vi) estimates of the net
				economic benefit of the programs.
(g) A resource adequacy assessment based on
				existing resources and a description of the nature of the need for additional
				resources to achieve industry-standard adequacy standards or reserve margin
				requirements. The plan must completely and thoroughly describe the method(s)
				and assumptions used in the assessment, including the basis for the adequacy
				standard or reserve margin requirement and computer modeling and model
				validation procedures. The assessment must document energy and capacity
				deficits, their duration, frequency, and timing, given the energy and demand
				forecasts in (b) and resource capabilities in (d) and (f). In addition, the
				assessment must document energy and capacity deficits for scenarios that
				involve higher and lower forecasts of energy and demand requirements;
				alternative load profiles; and alternative performance levels for existing
				resources to account for the effects of, among other things, extreme weather
				events; demand-side and distribution-side resources; electrification; and price
				response.
(h) A description of a
				wide range of plausibly cost-effective resources that could be acquired to
				satisfy the need for additional resources identified in the results of the
				resource adequacy assessment in (g), including those that may become available
				through transmission system investments that enhance access to broader markets
				for power resources. The description shall include the electricity generating
				or load serving capabilities and characteristics of the resources including the
				technology; size; service life or contract length; performance attributes;
				costs including estimates of potential fuel delivery infrastructure and
				transmission system interconnection and network upgrade costs, and tax credits;
				and environmental impacts including water and land use and emissions. The
				description must explain the method(s) and assumptions used to identify
				potential resources and define their costs, generation or load serving
				capabilities, and other attributes. The description may be in table form with
				accompanying explanatory text, as necessary.
(i) An evaluation of the full range of
				cost-effective means of combining the resources in (h) with the continued or
				discontinued operation of existing resources to satisfy the need for additional
				resources identified in (g) at the lowest long-term total cost. The evaluation
				must consider a broad range of future customer electricity demand and energy
				requirements and risks related to uncertainty about future loads, resource
				costs and performance, and changes in public policy and environmental
				regulations. The evaluation must be designed to allow for a comparison of the
				long-term total costs and risks of acquiring alternative resources, or
				combinations of resources, to address the need identified in (g). The
				evaluation must include at least two scenarios that rely on increased renewable
				energy resources and demand-side resources pursuant to
				69-3-1204(2)(a)(vi),
				MCA. The plan must completely and thoroughly describe the results of the
				evaluation and document and justify the method(s) and assumptions used in the
				evaluation, including method(s) and assumptions used to determine
				cost-effectiveness and computer modeling and model validation
				procedures.
(j) For computer
				modeling used to perform the evaluation in (i):
(i) a thorough description of the basic
				design and purpose of the model;
(ii) a thorough description of the inputs and
				how the model uses inputs to produce outputs;
(iii) a thorough description of the decisions
				that were informed by the modeling and questions that were examined or answered
				by the modeling;
(iv) comprehensive
				descriptions of and data for modeling outputs and results;
(v) comprehensive, understandable
				explanations of the modeling results; and
(vi) a thorough description of the process by
				which a stakeholder can obtain inputs electronically in order to conduct
				alternative modeling.
(k)
				A description of the utility's plan for demand-side resource acquisition over
				the planning period, to the extent such resources are not directly included in
				the evaluation in (i). The description must include the utility's assessment of
				the cost-effective demand-side resource potential on its system, including the
				method(s) and assumptions used to determine cost-effectiveness.
(l) A description of the advisory committee
				required in
				69-3-1208, MCA, a complete and
				thorough documentation of how the utility designated members and engaged the
				advisory committee to review and evaluate technical, economic, and policy
				issues related to the utility's system and the planning process, including all
				recommendations of the advisory committee and the utility's responses, and a
				copy of the work plan required in ARM 38.5.2023.
(m) A description of the public meetings
				conducted pursuant to
				69-3-1205(1),
				MCA, including a summary of comments, concerns, or other input received and how
				the utility responded.
(n) A
				description of the comments received on the draft plan published pursuant to
				ARM 38.5.2023 and how they were considered, including a thorough description of
				modifications made to the draft plan in response to the comments or the reasons
				for making no modifications.
(o) A
				near-term action plan describing the steps the utility intends to take based on
				the results and conclusions of the planning process, including the evaluations
				in this rule. The action plan must describe the process the utility intends to
				use to acquire any resources or resource types, including the use of
				competitive solicitations.
(p) A
				description of how information about the mix of resources used to provide the
				demand and energy requirements of customers will be disseminated to them,
				including information about emissions and other environmental impacts, using
				itemized labeling, reporting, or other mechanisms as
				appropriate.