How utilities can approach integrated resource planning

As electricity demand continues to rise, the pressure is mounting on utilities to adopt a more resilient, integrated, and forward-looking approach to resource adequacy planning. Traditional methods—often fragmented across generation, transmission, distribution, and demand management—can lead to costly, slow, and misaligned decisions. A more cohesive strategy is essential to ensure reliability, manage costs, and adapt to an increasingly dynamic energy landscape.

To address these challenges, ICF has developed the Holistic Energy Resource Optimization (HERO) platform. HERO integrates key elements of traditional and new planning processes in a way that provides timely and affordable prioritization of potential resource choices and policy alternatives.

Read this paper to:

• Understand the variety of limitations with traditional planning methods.
• Explore case study insights that highlight the need for a new approach.
• Learn how HERO offers a transparent method for exploring resource pathways, evaluating risk, and engaging with stakeholders.