IRP - Strategically planning for use and development of energy resources

Energy Planning

NW Natural's Integrated Resource Plan

At NW Natural, we have a responsibility to meet our customers' current and future energy needs, reliably and affordably. Every few years, the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) team develops a plan that best meets our customers' forecasted long-term energy requirements with the goal of minimizing the combination of costs and risks for NW Natural customers. This robust planning process evaluates many factors including but not limited to the following:

Environmental policies
Customer growth
Consumption trends
Demand-side resources such as energy efficiency and demand response
Supply-side resources such as storage options
Compliance resources such as renewable natural gas and allowances

Our IRP is developed through a process open to the public and informed by feedback from interested parties. The culmination of the IRP process is a strategic roadmap for managing energy resources to meet current and future energy needs while maintaining reliability, safety, and affordability. Regulatory oversight comes from the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) and Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) in Oregon and Washington, respectively.

Coming soon - the draft 2025 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) will be available on this page in mid-June.

Once the draft IRP is released, NW Natural will be soliciting feedback through early July, 2025. Feedback can be submitted through our feedback form or via email to IRP@nwnatural.com.

Please contact IRP@nwnatural.com if you have any questions, accessibility requests, or other IRP related needs.

Working groups & public meetings

2025 IRP working groups & public meetings

All meetings listed below are open to the public. Please note listed dates and times are tentative and subject to change.

Technical Working Group (TWG) and Public Engagement Webinar (PEW) times listed as 'TBD' will be updated
once timing is confirmed.

Meeting type	Title	Date/Time/Location
TWG#1 (previously TWG-1; part 1)	Planning Environment Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	Oct. 22, 2024; 1-4p.m. Virtual
TWG#2 (previously TWG-1; part 2)	Planning Envt. follow-up; Scenarios Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	Nov 1, 2024; 9a.m. - noon Virtual
Energy Fair #1	Winter Preparedness: Exploring Energy Planning	Nov. 16, 2024; 11a.m. - 2p.m. Parkrose High School
TWG#3	Scenarios and Climate Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	Nov. 21, 2024; 9a.m. - noon Virtual
TWG#4	Load Forecast Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	December 17, 2024; 1-4p.m. Virtual
TWG#5	Avoided Costs & Demand Side Resources Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	Jan. 21, 2025; 1-4p.m. Virtual
TWG#6	Supply-Side & Compliance Resources Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	Jan. 28, 2025; 1-5p.m. Virtual
PEW #1	Energy Planning Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	March 5; 6-7p.m.
TWG#7	Cancelled	Cancelled
Office Hours	ICF study follow-up	April 1, 2025; 1-4p.m.
TWG#8	Distribution System Planning Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	April 8, 2025; 1-4p.m. Virtual
TWG#9	Resource Optimization Planning Model Please note this meeting may require more than a three hour block of time. We expect to conclude in the afternoon, and will update as we know more.	May 29, 2025; 9a.m. - 4p.m. Virtual
TWG#10	Resource Optimization Planning Model, Portfolio Results and Action Plan	June 26, 2025; 9a.m. - noon
Energy Fair #2	Energy Planning and Proposed Action Plan	TBD
PEW #2	Action Plan Review	TBD

Previous workshops	Date/Time/Location
IRP Open House Meeting video Presentation (.pdf) System Model Diagram (.pdf)	October 10, 2024 In-person and Microsoft Teams
Informal Stakeholder Workshop #1 Topic: WUTC Staff Recommendations on the 2022 IRP Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	April 18, 2024; 1-3p.m. Hosted on Microsoft Teams
Informal Stakeholder Workshop #2 Topic: WUTC Staff Recommendations on the 2022 IRP Presentation (.pdf) Meeting video	April 25, 2024; 2-4p.m. Hosted on Microsoft Teams

Stakeholder feedback

NW Natural requests stakeholders provide feedback within two weeks after the conclusion of each Technical Working Group meeting and/or stakeholder workshop. Comments can be input using the form accessed through the link below.

2025 IRP Stakeholder Feedback Form*
*Please be aware this link will direct you to a different web site and should open in a new tab.

Contact us

Please feel free to get in touch with us with questions about the IRP, to be added to our stakeholder distribution list, or to connect on other topics related to the IRP and its development. You may also use this email for any accessibility requests.

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