OAR 860-090-0060: Components of the Integrated Resource Plan

(1) Each energy utility must prepare an integrated resource plan that contains the information described in this rule. (2) Executive summary. The utility must include in the IRP a brief executive summary, written for a general audience, that describes the utility’s long-term resource strategy and near - term action plan and explains any significant changes in the utility’s strategy since the last IRP. (3) Updates since last IRP. The utility must describe in the IRP the resource actions and actions toward enabling strategies the utility has taken since the last IRP. (4) Documentation of public input. The utility must include in the IRP an appendix that: (a) Describes the opportunities the utility created for public input, which must include meetings that are open to all process participants, including the timeframes over which the utility accepted input from the public on each draft element of the IRP enumerated in OAR 860-090-0070; (b) Summarizes at a high level major themes of public input the utility received during the development of the plan using the mechanisms created by the utility and attaches all written public comments received in response to comment opportunities specified by the utility on each draft element of the IRP enumerated in OAR 860-090-0070; (c) Documents whether and how the utility incorporated public input received during the development of the plan using the mechanisms created by the utility into the finalization of portfolios, planning scenarios, community impacts metrics, the action plan, the utility’s response to any specific direction from the Commission, and other analysis or components of the IRP; and (d) Documents how and when the utility explained any decisions not to incorporate public input received during the development of the plan using the mechanisms created by the utility into the IRP that is filed with the Commission . (5) Commission direction. The utility must include in the IRP a narrative explanation and reference to the appropriate IRP section and, if applicable, subsection for the utility’s response to any specific direction from the Commission to undertake or provide additional information, analyses or actions in the IRP since the filing of its prior IRP. (6) Needs assessment. The utility must include in the IRP an evaluation of the resource needs to achieve an acceptable level of reliability, including meeting any reliability requirements to which the utility is subject, while complying with all state and federal energy policies, over the next five years and in key planning years. The utility must describe in the IRP how the reliability analysis in the needs assessment accounts for opportunities presented by interactions with other systems and markets . (a) The utility must calculate resource needs based on the utility’s load forecast , which must be the most recent available at the time that the needs assessment calculation is performed, and no incremental actions beyond the commitments that the utility has entered into at the time of conducting the analysis. (b) The utility must include in the assessment reasonable upper and lower bounds on resource needs based on key planning uncertainties. (c) The utility must clearly define the metrics and units used to summarize identified resource needs and report the date on which assumptions were last updated to inform the needs assessment. (7) Portfolio analysis (a) In developing the IRP, the utility must analyze a set of meaningfully different portfolios of resource options. The utility must provide in the IRP a detailed description of the analysis performed and the results of its analysis. (A) The utility must evaluate portfolios that test different levels of demand side resources and distributed resources in Oregon. (B) The utility must consider both commercially available and emerging technologies as resource options. For resources reliant on emerging fuels, the cost and availability of fuel supply, transport, and storage, as appropriate, must be considered. (C) If the utility’s action plan includes any of the following actions, the utility must evaluate portfolios that test the impacts of these actions and that consider alternatives to these actions: (i) A specific resource action that the utility intends to take outside of a competitive acquisition process, such as acquisition of a particular generating facility that does not fall under the competitive bidding rules in OAR Chapter 860, Division 89; (ii) Modification or retirement of a specific resource; or (iii) Expansion, retirement, or substantial modification of transmission, gas transportation, or distribution facilities. (b) In developing portfolios under this section, the utility must consider the contributions of all resource options toward reliability, policy compliance, and lowering the costs associated with the generation, production, purchase, or delivery of energy to customers. (c) The utility must evaluate portfolios under this section across a range of future planning scenarios that reflect plausible and material differences across key planning uncertainties. (d) The utility must identify a reference case that represents current expectations for future conditions. (e) The utility must demonstrate that all portfolios developed under this section provide for an acceptable level of reliability and are expected to meet any reliability requirements to which the utility is subject, while complying with all state and federal energy policies, over the next five years and in key planning years. The utility must describe how the reliability analysis accounts for reasonable opportunities presented by interactions with other systems and markets. Utilities subject to ORS 469A.415 must describe how compliance with the emission reduction targets under ORS 469A.410 was incorporated into IRP modeling. (f) In evaluating portfolios under this section, the utility must reasonably estimate future operations of the utility’s system, including interactions between resources and interactions with energy markets. (g) For each portfolio, the utility must identify metrics in the IRP that describe the portfolio’s performance with respect to: (A) Long-term costs, calculated as the present value of the expected net costs to Oregon customers over the planning horizon associated with a given portfolio of resources, including all costs associated with producing, purchasing, and transporting energy to the customer and including end effects (comprehensive long-term cost estimate). A comprehensive long-term cost estimate provided under this rule may be used solely for the purposes of evaluating the utility’s IRP and, if applicable, CEP. (B) Near-term costs, estimated as a plausible range for the total annual net costs to Oregon customers over the next five years associated with a given portfolio of resources, including all costs associated with producing, purchasing, and transporting energy to the customer (comprehensive near-term cost estimate), considering near-term uncertainties such as resource ownership and cost allocation to Oregon customers. A comprehensive near-term cost estimate provided under this rule may be used solely for the purposes of evaluating the utility’s IRP and, if applicable, CEP. (C) Economic risk, representing the risk associated with near-term plans if future conditions were to materially deviate from expectations. (D) Reliability risk, presented in a manner that reflects relevant information about the potential frequency and severity of supply shortages, such as total unserved energy, maximum hourly unserved energy, duration, and timing, while considering risks associated with weather, hydrologic conditions, outages, fuel availability, and regional constraints. (E) Community impacts, presented as plausible ranges for the future impacts of the portfolio on communities within or partly within the utility’s Oregon service territory. The utility must demonstrate that community impact metrics are: (i) Developed with input from the public, including input from environmental justice communities; (ii) Quantitative and measurable as the utility implements its plan; (iii) Practically informative to utility implementation decisions, including investments, contracts, and program designs; and (iv) Distinct from other scoring metrics. (F) Emissions, calculated in a manner consistent with any emissions reporting requirements to which the utility is subject. (h) A multi-jurisdictional utility must develop at least one portfolio that optimizes resources across its entire system, taking into account the varied energy and policy requirements of the jurisdictions in which it operates. (i) Preferred Portfolio. The utility must select a Preferred Portfolio in the IRP and explain why it represents the best balance of cost and risk to customers and the utility. The utility must include a visual representation such as a matrix that describes how each portfolio performed against the portfolio scoring metrics and that clearly demonstrates the relationship of the preferred portfolio to all portfolios eligible for preferred portfolio selection. In the event that the most competitive portfolio is not selected as the preferred portfolio, the utility must provide additional justification for the selection. (8) Other planning processes. The utility must clearly refer in the IRP to any additional planning required by law that affects the utility’s long - term resource strategy or near-term action plan. (9) Long-term resource strategy. The utility must describe in the IRP the long-term resource strategy to meet customer needs and comply with all federal and state energy policies over the next 20 years. The utility’s development of the long-term resource strategy must be informed by a needs assessment and portfolio analysis that considers all reasonably plausible resource options. In addition, the utility must include in the resource strategy: (a) An explanation of its consideration of the potential impacts of future technological development and changes to consumer behavior, state and federal energy policies, and regional developments; (b) A description of the utility’s strategy for addressing major risks, key dependencies, barriers to implementation, and critical junctures for the plan; and (c) A description of any enabling strategies that the utility is evaluating to support the long-term resource strategy, including changes to system operational practices. (10) Near-term action plan. The utility must include in the IRP a near - term action plan that describes the steps the utility intends to take over the next five years to provide customers with safe and reliable service, meet other customer needs and comply with all federal and state energy policies in a manner that is informed by the utility’s portfolio analysis and consistent with the utility’s long-term resource strategy. The utility must include in the action plan the utility’s plans for: (a) Resource acquisitions, including conducting competitive acquisitions, with information on the utility’s intended schedules, estimated range of procurement scope or size, and any constraints or parameters that the utility intends to apply to align resource selections with the utility’s near - term needs and long-term resource strategy. (b) Pursuing energy efficiency, demand response, community-based resources, and other customer-sited and distributed resources. The action plan must explain how the utility intends to pursue all cost-effective energy efficiency and demand response and must reference analysis in the IRP that supports targets for using these resources to meet system needs. (c) Any other resource actions the utility intends to take that may materially affect the utility’s resource portfolio or the performance of the portfolio in terms of cost, risk, reliability, or compliance with state or federal policies. (d) Any enabling strategies the utility plans to pursue to support the utility’s near-term action plan. (e) Preparing and filing the next IRP and IRP Updates, including the intended filing dates and any areas that the utility plans to prioritize for new or updated analysis. (f) Managing near term uncertainties and process dependencies, including any contingency plans the utility has developed to implement the action plan as conditions change. (11) Cost-effective grid enhancing technologies strategic plan. An electric company subject to Oregon Laws 2025 Chapter 391 must include a section that provides its strategic plan setting forth the information required by that law, using the definition of cost-effectiveness and criteria established by the Commission. (12) Counterfactual portfolio. Notwithstanding the requirements of subsection (7)(e) above, an electric company that is subject to ORS 469A.445 must develop and evaluate in the IRP one portfolio developed as though the requirements of ORS 469A.400 to ORS 469A.475 did not apply, holding equal all other constraints and assumptions used to develop the Preferred Portfolio.