Date: May 2024

This session will highlight the underappreciated importance of planning for winter peaks, and will identify options that are available to utilities and regulators to manage that new risk cost-effectively and reliably. The session will begin with a discussion of the emerging challenge, which will be followed by examples of utility and regulatory initiatives underway to address the challenge. For example, in Colorado, Xcel Energy has identified a need to develop the winter capability of their DR portfolio. In the Midwest, resource planning has begun to account for winter peaks due to gas curtailments. Lessons learned from winter peaking utilities (e.g., in the Northwest) and gas utilities implementing demand response programs will be discussed as well.

Speaker:
Ryan Hledik, The Brattle Group