Other highlights of this planning process include the following: ✔ establishing customer-centric planning ✔ creating greater market opportunities for DERs and demand response providers and grid-scale developers ✔ enabling the development of an optimal portfolio of solutions to address resource, transmission, and distribution needs ✔ maintaining transparency through multilevel stakeholder engagement and an independent technical advisory panel ✔ implementing a streamlined 18-month planning process culminating in a five-year integrated plan with discrete proposals submitted to the Public Utility Commission for review ✔ facilitating most of the key aspects of the integrated grid planning development process, such as forecast assumptions and market barriers, through subject matter expert-based working groups. Illinois In 2017, the Illinois Commerce Commission launched NextGrid, an initiative to create a shared base of information about electric utility industry issues and opportunities for grid modernization. It is based on collaboration between key stakeholders and includes several working groups of subject table 1. The benefit value streams in selected states. State Value Category Generation Value Stream Avoided energy Avoided fuel hedge Avoided capacity and reserves Avoided ancillary services Avoided renewable procurement Market price reduction Transmission Avoided deferred transmission investment Avoided transmission losses Avoided transmission operation and maintenance Distribution Avoided deferred distribution investment Avoided distribution losses Avoided distribution operation and maintenance Avoided reliability costs Avoided resiliency costs Environmental/society Monetized environmental/ health benefits Social environmental benefits Security enhancement/risk Societal (economy/jobs) CA: California; MA: Massachusetts; NY: New York; NV: Nevada; HI: Hawaii; IL: Illinois; NH: New Hampshire; CO: Colorado; MD: Maryland; MN: Minnesota; ME: Maine; NJ: New Jersey. Source: " Locational Value of Distributed Energy Resources. " march/april 2022 ieee power & energy magazine 17 CA MA NY NV HI IL NH CO MD MN ME NJ