Webinar Recap: How PG&E is Transforming Grid Planning with Integrated Risk-Based Investment Strategies
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) is redefining how utilities plan, prioritize, and invest in infrastructure with an innovative approach to Integrated Grid Planning (IGP), powered by IFS Copperleaf.
In a recent Energy Central webinar, PG&E leadership unveiled how the organization developed and deployed an end-to-end solution for grid investment planning that balances risk, cost, and stakeholder needs in one unified framework.
Why Integrated Planning Matters More Than Ever
The growing complexity of the electric grid—from climate risks and wildfire threats to capacity growth and aging infrastructure—demands a smarter, more agile way to plan investments.
PG&E responded by moving away from siloed, program-based planning in favor of a circuit-based, bottom-up approach. Their IGP framework consolidates over 80 datasets across 20 systems into a single source of truth, enabling data-driven decisions at scale.
By integrating this intelligence with IFS Copperleaf’s value framework, PG&E built a transparent and scalable system for assessing asset risk, generating investment plans, and optimizing portfolios in alignment with strategic goals, regulatory requirements, and resource constraints.
SNAP + IFS Copperleaf: From Asset Risk to Optimal Investment
PG&E’s System Needs Assessment Platform (SNAP), built on Palantir Foundry, aggregates and visualizes asset risk—including wildfire, reliability, capacity, and public safety—across PG&E’s service territory. PG&E then normalized and directly integrated the data into IFS Copperleaf.
Next, the IGP framework uses IFS Copperleaf to automatically create over 17,000 bundled investments, each optimized to reduce risk and maximize value. Engineers and executives alike can drill down from enterprise-wide summaries to individual circuits and assets.
Scenario Modeling: Turning Complexity into Clarity
PG&E is already realizing measurable returns—operational, financial, and regulatory—from its IFS Copperleaf implementation. With IFS Copperleaf , PG&E runs multiple investment scenarios constrained by capital, labor, or asset availability.
This continuous planning capability empowers leadership to compare long-term outcomes, such as how capacity and reliability risks evolve over time under different plans.
The pilot results align closely with the strategic priorities of utility executives:
- Customer Impact: 4.6 million customer minutes of outage avoided—which means entire communities keeping their lights on during critical work.
- Operational Excellence: 67% reduction in planned outages through smart work bundling and sequencing.
- Financial Performance: $18 million in immediate cost savings, with every dollar reinvested into system improvements
- Strategic Value: Clear pathway to optimize $5 billion in annual investments using proven methodology, with projected long-term savings of $3.7 billion
These outcomes underscore how IFS Copperleaf’s value-based optimization not only drives efficiency and customer benefits but also strengthens PG&E’s ability to meet regulatory expectations and plan strategically for a more resilient, future-ready grid.
Driving Industry Alignment through Consortium Collaboration
PG&E recognizes that industry-wide consistency in value models is essential for effective regulatory filings and customer trust. To that end, they’re launching a utility consortium focused on integrated planning standards.
Upcoming white papers and benchmarking events will help utilities nationwide adopt similar frameworks, driving collective and continuous improvement across the sector.
The invitation is open to all utilities and stakeholders to co-create a transparent, consensus-driven future for grid investment planning.
Watch Now: Full Webinar On-Demand
PG&E’s integrated approach to grid planning represents a bold step forward for utilities facing growing complexity, constrained resources, and rising stakeholder expectations.
To hear the full story—including live demos of SNAP and IFS Copperleaf, practical insights on change management, and how PG&E is building industry-wide alignment—watch the webinar on demand.