LINCOLN – Lincoln Electric System will reach the next step in its latest long-range planning process with its third and final public meeting for the LES Integrated Resource Plan on Thursday, Aug. 25, 6-7:30 p.m. at the LES Operations Center, 9445 Rokeby Road. The Integrated Resource Plan, or IRP, is a blueprint developed every five years to help forecast when power resources will be needed, what the power-generation mix should look like and how the utility will bring it together to best serve its ratepayers in the future.
This public meeting will focus on reviewing the final draft of the report and the related action plan, which includes details on LES’ optimal resource mix, the LES Sustainable Energy Program and LES’ pursuit of its decarbonization goal. The LES Administrative Board will take action on the report at its Oct. 21, 2022, meeting.
LES reviewed the IRP’s timeline and a consultant’s recommendations for the Sustainable Energy Program at its first public meeting April 21. The second public meeting July 23 reviewed changes to the Sustainable Energy Program assumptions based on the consultant’s findings and the scope of the upcoming analysis of LES’ future resource mix. LES held two interactive IRP workshops to give customers an opportunity to learn more about LES’ regional electricity market, the Southwest Power Pool, and its role in LES resource decisions.
Required as part of LES’ hydroelectric power contract with the Western Area Power Administration, LES' IRP is part of the utility's strategic planning efforts that keep it among the best power companies in the nation. The last IRP was produced and filed with the Western Area Power Administration in 2017.
Merging industry knowledge and insight from LES customer-owners in the IRP process, LES keeps its goal of maintaining the lowest possible rates for its customers while meeting their energy needs with efficiency and reliability on the leading edge of the power industry.
To learn more about LES’ 2022 IRP, visit LES.com/IRP. Related comments and questions may also be submitted to [email protected].