The turning point came with a stack of red marks.
Preparing for its biggest rate case in a decade, Tri-State Power & Light* invited former regulators and outside advisers to challenge its proposed $750 million modernization program before it reached the commissions. Their verdict was blunt: too many projects and not enough evidence explaining funding priorities.
For the multi-state utility, which serves 2.7 million customers across the Central Plains region, that was a wake-up call.
The company needed to replace aging substations, reinforce storm-prone circuits, expand transmission capacity, deploy smart grid technologies and prepare the network for rising demand and new renewable generation. Every project had merit. The challenge was proving which investments delivered the greatest value.
Working with IFS Copperleaf, Tri-State stopped treating capital planning as an annual budgeting exercise. Teams explored multiple investment
scenarios, tested the consequences of different funding levels and balanced competing objectives. Before the first review, every recommended investment had survived months of rigorous evaluation.
The utility also modeled baseline network risk, measured how each investment reduced that risk and tested alternative portfolios under different funding levels, construction schedules and future scenarios. Optimization identified the combination of projects that produced the greatest overall value within budget and workforce constraints.
“The conversation changed completely,” said Laura Bennett*, Tri-State’s Vice President for Asset Strategy. “Instead of arguing for individual projects, we were evaluating the performance of the entire portfolio.”
Unsurprisingly, the commissions approved Tri-State’s $750 million modernization program.
Tri-State’s experience reflects a broader shift across the industry. A Western electric utility has also adopted IFS Copperleaf to strengthen investment planning.
“Instead of competing programs, we now have trade-off discussions based on outcomes,” said a Senior Manager of Integrated Grid Planning at a Western electric utility.
“IFS Copperleaf lets us quantify risks and benefits on a common economic scale, so we can prioritize investments that deliver the most value”
Senior Manager of Integrated Grid Planning at a Western electric utility
In an industry under growing pressure to justify every dollar, winning a rate case begins long before the filing is submitted. The most valuable investment of all is to build a capital plan that can withstand every question regulators ask.