Resource Evaluation, Planning, and Reliability Services
Many in the power industry can recall the build cycle of the 1990s and early 2000s when independent power producers (IPPs) and unregulated arms of traditional utility companies were adding new, mostly gas-fired capacity, across the US markets in record numbers. This boom left most markets overbuilt, and with high reserve margins and with the momentum behind deregulation, the general perception was that the need for traditional resource planning had diminished greatly.
Fast forward to today: reserve margins are once again tightening with the economic recovery, deregulated markets have altered the competitive landscape, gas price volatility has re emphasized fuel diversity, regional planning coordination is increasing and new and controversial environmental regulations are changing the way generation resources will be built and operated. This rapidly changing utility landscape has emphasized the need for comprehensive resource planning. Whether you are a municipal, cooperative, or investor-owned utility, you will encounter many challenges and risks with every power supply decision in the future:
Traditional Challenges
- Should I build or buy?
- What is the best mix of base load, intermediate, and peaking resources?
- What is the best location and size for the resource?
- What are the dispatch costs or strike prices for this new resource?
- What is the cost to my customers?
- What is the rate of return for my shareholders?
New Challenges and Risks
- Do I want to operate in a regulated environment or a deregulated market? How do I manage my decisions if I must continue to operate in both?
- Given the volatility in gas/oil prices, what type of resource should be considered, i.e., gas, coal, nuclear, renewable, or fixed price power purchase?
- Can I ever get a new base load resource built? How can I manage the associated uncertainties; risks; financial, regulatory, and legal?
- Does the resource satisfy my ISO's installed capacity requirements?
- What impact does regional coordination of planning have on my options?
- Am I affected by Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) mandates? When does a Renewable Resource improve my risk profile?
- How will EPA's new Interstate Transport Rule (ITR) affect my operating flexibility?
- What impact would carbon legislation, if ever passed, have on my power supply decisions? How do the proposed EPA regulations impact my system's operations?
- Where does demand-side management, direct load control and demand response fit economically in to the portfolio? When are they advantageous options?
- What is the optimal level of reserves and how does this affect my reliability?
With more than 35 years of experience assisting clients across the country, Ventyx Advisors are ready to assist you with your resource planning needs. Ventyx has both the tools and the experience to help you build a comprehensive and defensible resource planning process that incorporates all aspects of your corporate, public, and regulatory environments.
Ventyx Advisors brings a comprehensive toolbox of best-in-class software to help address your questions and challenges. Employing these applications on your behalf will result in a complete analysis. These tools include System Optimizer, Planning and Risk, Strategist, PROMOD IV, North American Power Reference Case, Horizons Interactive, and the Energy Velocity database. In addition, Ventyx Advisors has a large set of Excel, Access, and VBA tools developed over the years that can be used to streamline your data handling and evaluation, and customize the presentation of results to the preferences of your key decision makers.
