4 Colo. Code Regs. § 723-3-3604
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, June 10, 2024
Section 4 CCR 723-3-3604 - Contents of the Resource PlanThe utility shall file a plan with the Commission that contains the information specified below. When required by the Commission, the utility shall provide work papers to support the information contained in the plan. The plan shall include the following.
(a) A statement of the utility-specified resource acquisition period and planning period. The utility shall consistently use the specified resource acquisition and planning periods throughout the entire resource plan and resource acquisition process. The utility shall include a detailed explanation as to why the specific period lengths were chosen in light of the assessment of the needs of the utility system.(b) An annual electric demand and energy forecast developed pursuant to rule 3606.(c) An evaluation of existing resources developed pursuant to rule 3607.(d) An evaluation of transmission resources pursuant to rule 3608.(e) An assessment of planning reserve margins and contingency plans for the acquisition of additional resources developed pursuant to rule 3609.(f) An assessment of the need for additional resources developed pursuant to rule 3610.(g) The utility's plan for acquiring these resources pursuant to rule 3611, including a description of the projected emissions, in terms of pounds per MWH and short-tons per year, of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, mercury and carbon dioxide for any resources proposed to be owned by the utility and for any new generic resources included in the utility's modeling for its resource plan.(h) The annual water consumption for each of the utility's existing generation resources, and the water intensity (in gallons per MWH) of the existing generating system as a whole, as well as the projected water consumption for any resources proposed to be owned by the utility and for any new generic resources included in the utility's modeling for its resource plan.(i) The proposed RFP(s) the utility intends to use to solicit bids for energy and capacity resources to be acquired through a competitive acquisition process, including model contracts, pursuant to rule 3616.(j) A list of the information related to the resource plan proceeding that the utility claims is confidential and a list of the information related to the resource plan proceeding that the utility claims is highly confidential. The utility shall also list the information that it will provide to owners or developers of a potential resource in RFP documents or under paragraphs 3613(a) and (b). The utility shall further explicitly list the protections it proposes for bid prices, other bid details, information concerning a new resource that the utility proposes to build and own as a rate base investment, other modeling inputs and assumptions, and the results of bid evaluation and selection. The protections sought by the utility for these items shall be specified in the motion(s) submitted under paragraph 3603(b). For good cause shown the utility may seek to protect additional information as confidential or highly confidential by filing the appropriate motion under rule 1101 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure in a timely manner.(k) Descriptions of at least three alternate plans that can be used to represent the costs and benefits from increasing amounts of renewable energy resources, demand-side resources, energy storage systems, or Section 123 resources as defined in paragraph 3602(q) potentially included in a cost-effective resource plan. One of the alternate plans shall represent a baseline case that describes the costs and benefits of the new utility resources required to meet the utility's needs during the planning period that minimize the net present value of revenue requirements and that complies with the RES, 4 CCR 723-3-3650, et seq., as well as with the demand-side resource requirements under § 40-3.2-104, C.R.S. The other alternate plans shall represent alternative combinations of resources that meet the same resource needs as the baseline case but that include proportionately more renewable energy resources, demand-side resources, energy storage systems, or Section 123 resources. The utility shall propose a range of possible future scenarios and input sensitivities for the purpose of testing the robustness of the alternate plans under various parameters.(l) An assessment of the costs and benefits of the integration of intermittent renewable energy resources on the utility's system, including peer-reviewed studies, consistent with the amounts of renewable energy resources the utility proposes to acquire.(m) Modeling assumptions and analytical methodology proposed to assess the costs and benefits of energy storage systems including, but not limited to: integration of intermittent resources; improvement of reliability; reduction in the need for increased generation facilities to meet periods of peak demand; and avoidance, reduction, or deferral of investments.(n) The utility shall propose how energy storage systems smaller than 30 MW in size may be accommodated in the all-source competitive acquisition process.38 CR 17, September 10, 2015, effective 9/30/201539 CR 06, March 25, 2016, effective 4/14/201639 CR 08, April 25, 2016, effective 5/15/201640 CR 22, November 25, 2017, effective 12/15/201742 CR 03, February 10, 2019, effective 3/2/201942 CR 07, April 10, 2019, effective 4/30/201942 CR 09, May 10, 2019, effective 5/30/201943 CR 08, April 25, 2020, effective 5/15/202043 CR 12, June 25, 2020, effective 7/15/202043 CR 20, October 25, 2020, effective 11/14/202044 CR 13, July 10, 2021, effective 7/30/202144 CR 24, December 25, 2021, effective 1/14/202245 CR 18, September 25, 2022, effective 10/15/202246 CR 02, January 25, 2023, effective 2/14/2023