)
Planning for High Electrification Futures: Lessons Learned from SMUD’s Integrated Distributed Resource Plan
This presentation will highlight innovations and insights learned from SMUD’s 2026 Integrated Distribution Resources Plan (IDRP). An IDRP helps a utility understand how their distribution system will be impacted by, and how to prepare for, longer-term trends in electrification and distributed energy resource (DER) adoption. By evaluating distribution load impacts across multiple future scenarios of DER adoption and managed electric vehicle charging behavior, SMUD’s IDRP provided the utility with insight into load management strategies that defer or reduce traditional infrastructure investments and lower overall total system costs. Additionally, the IDRP studied the opportunity to leverage DERs to defer distribution upgrades in non-wires alternatives and displace bulk system storage investments for SMUD’s energy and generation capacity needs. These insights support the development of capital investment and workforce strategies, customer programs and tariffs that appropriately value DERs. The study also helps highlight the potential value of more integrated planning processes that capture value-stacking opportunities for distributed resources across the local and bulk grid.
