Planning Transmission for Uncertainty: Applications and Lessons for the Western Interconnection

This report documents the results of a project whose goal is to carefully evaluate the practicality and potential usefulness of a method for planning transmission under uncertainty. This method, called stochastic programming, quantifies the economic value of simultaneously considering multiple scenarios (or “study cases”) of economic, policy, and technology changes over a multidecadal time horizon in a single model. By considering several possible futures in one model, analysts can identify near‐term transmission additions that enhance the adaptability and robustness of the transmission grid in the face of these uncertainties.