Load research and integrated local T&D planning

Similar to many U.S. utilities, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) faces rapidly increasing local transmission and distribution expenditures and is developing a new local integrated resource planning process to limit these expenditures. PG&E is integrating demand-side management programs with local area expansion plans to reduce load growth and defer expensive local area transmission and distribution upgrades. We show how detailed load research data are used in the new local integrated resource planning approach. Integrating demand-side management programs in the traditional expansion plan enables PG&E to reduce its planned investment by 31% or $35 million in present value over a 20-year period, for a suburban area in Northern California.