Phase II - Integration of Resource/Distribution/Transmission Planning

Notice: MI Power Grid meetings and all other MPSC workgroup meetings will be conducted via teleconference only until further notice. Please find remote access information for upcoming meetings on our calendar of events.

MI Power Grid Optimizing Grid Investments & Performance Stamp Utility companies and stakeholders engage in separate processes to determine what upgrades to make to the electric resource mix, transmission system, and distribution system. Decisions made in each of these processes impact customer costs. Doing a better job of integrating these processes, with the goal of evaluating alternatives that provide the best value, will result in a more efficient system and lower costs for customers.

Actions to Date

Statewide Energy Assessment recommendations (U-20464):
- Identify refinements to Integrated Resource Plan parameters related to forecasts of Distributed Energy Resources and reliability needs re: intermittent resources (Recommendation E-5)
- Develop framework to evaluate non-wires alternatives in distribution plans/integrated resource plans (Recommendation E-5)
- Propose revisions to integrated resource plan modeling parameters/filing requirements to better accommodate transmission alternatives in integrated resource plans (Recommendation E-8.1)
- Utilities to work with Staff and stakeholders to propose a methodology to quantify the value of generation diversity in integrated resource plans (Recommendation E-6)
August 20, 2020 Commission Order (Case No. U-20633) directed Staff to:
- Work with interested stakeholders and utilities to discuss ways to align integrated resource planning and distribution planning.
- Coordinate with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy on the inclusion of public health and environmental justice considerations in future integrated resource planning cases.
- File a report of findings and recommendations to this docket no later than May 27, 2021.
October 29, 2020, in response to Governor Whitmer's Executive Directive 2020-10 and Executive Order 2020-182, Commission Order (Case No. U-20633) directed Staff to:
- Work with the stakeholder group established in the August 20 order to determine how to update IRP planning parameters and filing requirements to take into account the goals set by Michigan's utilities and how these goals align with the greenhouse gas emissions targets set by Governor Whitmer.
- File a report of Staff recommendations no later than December 15, 2020.
December 15, 2020 Staff Report in response to the October 29,2020 Commission Order in Case No. U-20633.
- Report
- Appendices
April 15, 2021 Integration of Resource, Distribution, and Transmission Planning Draft Report
- Report
- Appendices
May27, 2021 Integration of Resource, Distribution, and Transmission Planning Final Report
- Report
- Appendices
September 24, 2021, the Commission issued an Order in response to Staff's final report. In that order the Commission directed Staff to do all of the following:

The Commission accepts the recommendations in Staff's final report.
Staff shall create a redline version of the Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters for review by stakeholders in the MI Power Grid Advanced Planning Phase III process and distribute it no later than December 2021.
Staff shall convene the Advanced Planning Phase III workgroup and provide stakeholders with a 30-day notice prior to the first meeting.
Staff is directed to file the final draft of the Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters in a new docket to be opened on the Commission's own motion by June 30, 2022.
Staff is directed to file the final draft of the Integrated Resource Plan Filing Requirements in U-15896 by June 30, 2022.
Initiated Phase III as directed by the September 24, 2021 Order in U-20633. Phase III information can be found here.