Identifying and structuring values to guide integrated resource planning at BC gas

British Columbia Gas, a major utility, was required by the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to develop an integrated resource plan that ad dressed multiple objectives and involved the participation of stakeholders. To assist BC Gas, we elicited values separately from most of the senior ex ecutives at BC Gas, members of the BCUC, and representatives of several sta keholder groups. Based on these values, we structured a set of objectives a nd associated performance measures for integrated resource planning (IRP) a t BC Gas. A multistakeholder process then provided judgments about appropri ate value tradeoffs among these objectives. This information was used in se veral ways in the IRP process. It fostered improved communication and serve d as a guide for designing more attractive plans and identifying future inf ormation needs. It also provided the basis for a quantitative evaluation of alternative plans and resources. Both the IRP process and the chosen integ rated resource plan were reviewed by lawyers representing interveners at a quasi-judicial hearing of the BCUC. Their concerns are informative in provi ding lessons for the use of the elicited values in the context of regulator y hearings.