Integrated Planning in an Era of Electrification & DER Growth
Electrification targets are no longer tomorrow’s problem, they are stressing the grid today. Industry analysts project an 18-fold increase in EV load and 7× growth in distributed energy resources (DERs) by 2030 (Siemens, World Economic Forum), forcing many utilities to double grid capacity within the decade (US Department of Energy). Add intensifying weather events and rising reliability expectations, and the traditional, siloed five-year plan looks dangerously outdated.
Why Integrated Planning Is Becoming Essential
Integrated planning (IP) links generation, transmission, distribution, and emerging technologies in a single decision model. Instead of juggling separate priorities across disparate lines of business, planners can understand how a non-wires alternative competes with a substation rebuild for scarce capital. IP’s holistic scope helps utilities:
- Align investments to long-term strategy through the Copperleaf Value Framework
- Quantify diverse outcomes—from wildfire risk reduction to GHG abatement—on a common economic scale
- Optimize portfolios continuously, not once every planning cycle, so decisions stay valid as conditions change
Three Forces Breaking Old-School Planning
| Market force | Pain if you stay siloed | Benefit when you adopt IGP |
|---|---|---|
| DER explosion | Uncertain hosting capacity, reverse-power flows | Probabilistic analysis highlights least-cost upgrades and non-wires options |
| Electrification surge | Capacity shortfalls, reactive reinforcements | Scenario modeling tests high/low-demand futures and times spend precisely |
| Extreme weather | Rising SAIDI/SAIFI and O&M overruns | Rapid re-forecasting reallocates crews and capital to the highest-value fixes in minutes |
Boardroom Outcomes You Can Defend
- Capital efficiency gains: Funds shift from low-value projects to those mitigating the most risk per dollar
- Regulatory confidence: Plans backed by transparent value economics shorten approval cycles and win incentives
- Stakeholder trust: Every decision ties directly to resilience, reliability, and ESG commitments on a dollar scale
Tangible Results
In 2024, Pacific Gas & Electric piloted IFS Copperleaf Integrated Planning to evaluate the impact of bundling work across its grid portfolio. The results were impressive:
- 20% unit cost efficiency across a $100 million portfolio, enabling millions of dollars to be reinvested in the business
- 4.6 million customer minutes of interruptions avoided by eliminating overlapping outages
By grouping projects and coordinating execution across programs, PG&E avoided redundant field work, reduced outages, and delivered measurable financial and operational benefits.
Key Takeaway
Integrated Planning isn’t an incremental upgrade, it’s the operating system for a modern, electrified grid. Utilities that pivot now will keep pace with DER growth, navigate regulatory scrutiny, and deliver superior return on investment.