Power Planning to the People

The report argues that open-source planning models allow nonutility stakeholders to challenge utility-led resource plans, potentially identifying lower-cost, cleaner energy pathways. Using the GenX tool to analyze the 2021 resource plan from Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities, the authors found opportunities for near-term customer savings. The report recommends that regulators increase data transparency, allow early stakeholder review of assumptions, and reduce cost barriers to modeling tools.

• The use of the open-source tool GenX to analyze the 2021 joint resource plan of Louisville Gas and Electric (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU) identified cleaner, least-cost planning pathways that could provide near-term savings for customers compared to the utilities' own models.
• Integrated resource planning is becoming more complex due to factors such as emissions reduction goals, rapid technological change, new state and federal policies, and higher levels of stakeholder participation, yet utilities have been slow to adopt advanced modeling tools that increase transparency and reduce customer costs.
• To empower stakeholders and ensure more robust planning, regulators should establish data-access standards for utility inputs, allow for early stakeholder comment on planning assumptions, and lower financial barriers by requiring utilities to fund proprietary model licenses or supporting open-source alternatives.

APA

RMI (2022). Power Planning to the People. https://rmi.org/resources/power-planning-to-the-people/

Chicago

RMI. Power Planning to the People. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/power-planning-to-the-people/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Power Planning to the People |date=6 December 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/power-planning-to-the-people/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022power, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Power Planning to the People}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/power-planning-to-the-people/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }