COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
A special Board of Public Utilities (BPU) meeting is scheduled for this Friday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m. BPU members are meeting virtually to provide feedback and consensus to the Department of Public Utilities (DPU) on the parameters and energy generation portfolios to be contemplated in the development of a new Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). An IRP serves as a roadmap to assist the county in planning for the acquisition of future power generation resources. Los Alamos citizens can watch the meeting and provide public comment via the Zoom platform by using the following URL: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84257779161.
With expected plans to exit the San Juan Generating Station in June of 2022, while realizing reduced carbon emission goals and meeting the electrical power demands of the community, and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), DPU contracted with FTI Consulting to develop the new IRP. FTI Consulting will additionally analyze cost, risk, sustainability, operational metrics, resiliency, and diversification of various options before recommending the best mix of generation resources to meet the needs of the county and DOE/LANL.
According to Utilities Manager Philo Shelton, “We are requesting our contractor to consider how and when we should replace fossil generation with combinations of renewables, storage and demand side resources. We also are asking them to factor in rising market wide renewable penetration, electric vehicle adoption, electrification of the community, transmission limits and grid stability issues.” The IRP is anticipated to be completed in the second quarter of 2022.
A copy of the existing 2017 IRP is available on the DPU website. Interested citizens may also download a copy of the Nov. 5th meeting agenda and presentation by visiting https://losalamos.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx and selecting “Board of Public Utilities” in the dropdown box of the search bar. Contact the Customer Care Center at 505-662-8333 or CustomerCare@lacnm.us for additional information.