Resource Planning
Long before a project gets to the contract stage, the team at CMPAS conducts critical, comprehensive planning studies for each utility. We dive deep into power economics to determine how a local utility should use its legacy assets, conduct system upgrades, and add new resources. The end product of this process for utilities is a rigorous, customized analysis that provides more information and insight into their systems and power portfolio than they could gather on their own.
Value of Planning Studies
CMPAS performs planning studies for each of its members and makes personalized portfolio recommendations. As members of a project-based agency, municipal utilities have the final decision-making authority and can accept, reject, or modify the recommendations.
CMPAS planning studies provide our member utilities with valuable insight, including:
- Comparisons between build versus buy situations from the spot or bilateral market
- Information about the type and amount of resources to build or procure
- Scenarios for building or procuring a resource and related timing information
- Assessments of whether to procure through ownership or power purchase agreement (PPA)
- Evaluations of plans to retrofit, retire, or replace existing generation resources
Value of Power Supply Planning Coalitions
CMPAS routinely organizes Power Supply Planning Coalitions comprised of multiple municipals that share a similar need for a study that evaluates resource alternatives. The coalition process creates a mutually beneficial win-win solution for all participants on a cost-sharing and cost-saving basis as utilities, while still receiving an individualized and comprehensive analysis of alternatives.
We’ve developed Coalitions to support the following planning analyses: