Seventh Power Plan: Upcoming Meeting Will Discuss Proposed Scenarios

At its February 10 meeting, the Council's power committee will review a draft set of proposed scenarios to use in its analysis for the Seventh Power Plan. 

The Council uses its regional portfolio, Genesys, and Aurora models to test a wide range of potential future conditions to identify the risks and costs of different resource strategies, as well as the timing of their development. This scenario analysis is a critical part of determining the best ways to make sure we have the energy we need with the least risk.

As the process to develop the plan has progressed, stakeholders and the public have expressed interest in seeing the Council examine how efforts to lower carbon emissions from power plants would affect the power system. The impact of growing renewable resources on the system is also a focus of interest.

The proposed 14 scenarios explore questions about carbon policies; loss of major resources; pace of energy efficiency development; increased reliance on variable resources in the Pacific Northwest and California; and the potential effects of climate change on regional loads and hydro generation.

The power committee will discuss whether the proposed scenarios address the issues that are of most concern and importance to the region at its February and March meetings, as well as at its resource strategies advisory committee meeting in March.