August 28, 2025

Case Study Video: How PG&E is Unlocking Efficiency and Reliability with IFS Copperleaf Integrated Planning

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) delivers electricity and natural gas to over 16 million citizens across Northern California. With a service territory spanning 5.5 million electric and 4.5 million gas customers, PG&E is one of the largest utilities in the United States—and like many utilities, it is facing the dual challenge of modernizing infrastructure while supporting California’s clean energy transition.

To meet these evolving demands, PG&E partnered with IFS Copperleaf® to transform how it evaluates, prioritizes, and executes grid investments.

The Challenge: Siloed Planning and Increasing Complexity

Before adopting IFS Copperleaf, PG&E relied on a patchwork of spreadsheets, Power BI reports, and homegrown tools for investment planning. These disconnected systems created challenges in:

  • Capital efficiency – ensuring every dollar was directed to the highest-value work
  • Reliability – reducing outages and customer disruptions
  • Long-term alignment – connecting near-term execution with strategic goals over a 10-year horizon

At the same time, PG&E faced growing system complexity: accelerating electrification, the integration of renewable energy, and the increasing impacts of climate change. The utility needed a more holistic, data-driven approach to align resources across multiple programs and lines of business.

The Solution: Bundled, Value-Based Planning

In 2024, PG&E piloted IFS Copperleaf Integrated Planning™ to evaluate the impact of bundling work across its grid portfolio. By grouping projects and coordinating execution across programs, PG&E avoided redundant field work, reduced outages, and delivered measurable financial and operational benefits.

The results were immediate:

  • 20% unit cost efficiency across a $100 million portfolio, enabling millions of dollars to be reinvested in other critical needs
  •  4.6 million customer minutes of interruptions avoided, by eliminating overlapping outages and coordinating work more effectively

Beyond bundling, PG&E now has the ability to:

  • Aggregate all investments in a single system of record
  • Value investments consistently using the IFS Copperleaf Value Framework™
  • Extend planning horizons up to 10 years, ensuring long-term strategy and regulatory alignment

The Results: A New Era of Planning at PG&E

The shift to integrated planning has positioned PG&E to deliver more reliable service and better outcomes for its customers, while meeting regulatory and ESG commitments.

With IFS Copperleaf, we can aggregate all of our investments in one place, value them consistently, and plan for the next decade—something we simply couldn’t do before.

Wen Tu
Senior Director of Integrated Grid Planning
SRP

The Road Ahead

PG&E’s journey illustrates how IFS Copperleaf Integrated Planning empowers utilities to break down silos, improve capital efficiency, and deliver tangible benefits to customers. By moving from fragmented, spreadsheet-based planning to a unified, value-based approach, PG&E is better prepared to navigate the complexities of electrification, renewable integration, and climate resilience.

Watch the full video to see how PG&E is using IFS Copperleaf Integrated Planning to build a more efficient, reliable, and resilient grid.