Case study: Targeting demand-side management for electricity transmission and distribution benefits

This paper shows how a vertically integrated utility develops a least-cost transmission and distribution (T&D) plan that considers demand-side management (DSM) to defer capacity expansion necessary for serving growing demand. The plan is the result of applying dynamic optimization techniques to a T&D planning area in the service territory of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the largest privately owned utility in the USA. In the case study area alone, DSM enables PG&E to reduce the present value of its planned investment in local T&D from $112.3 million to $77.3 million over a 20-year period. Copyright © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.