RD149 - Appalachian Power®, A unit of American Electric Power, Integrated Resource Planning Report - April 29, 2016


Executive Summary:
This Integrated Resource Plan (IRP, Plan, or Report) is submitted by Appalachian Power Company (APCo or Company) based upon the best information available at the time of preparation. However, changes that impact this Plan can occur without notice. Therefore this Plan is not a commitment to specific resource additions or other courses of action, since the future is highly uncertain, particularly in light of current economic conditions, the movement towards increasing use of renewable generation and end-use efficiency, as well as current and future environmental regulations, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Final Clean Power Plan (CPP).

In accordance with the Virginia State Corporation Commission's (Commission or SCC) February 1, 2016 Order in APCo's 2015 IRP case (2016 Final Order), and recognizing the many uncertainties, this IRP provides useful information to assess potential approaches for compliance with, and the possible costs and rate impacts of the CPP. The specific locations within this IRP filing, which respond to each bulleted requirement in the 2016 Final Order, appear both at the end of this Executive Summary, in Table ES-2, and in the Appendix as part of APCo's larger index (Exhibit D).

As in past IRP filings, APCo faced a number of other dynamic circumstances as it developed the assumptions and analyses outlined in this IRP. For example, on June 9, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order pertaining to PJM's proposed Capacity Perfonnance construct, thereby providing guidance to PJM on its capacity market proposals. While this Report incorporates the Company's expectations regarding Capacity Performance, APCo will continue to evaluate the impact of the FERC order, as it takes effect June l, 2016. Further, FERC allowed an exemption from the Capacity Performance rules for companies which utilize the Fixed Resource Requirement (FRR) (i.e. self-supply) alternative through 2018/19. APCo has elected the FRR alternative to fulfill its capacity obligations through 2019/20. Thus, this IRP and the action items described herein are subject to change as new infonnation becomes available or as circumstances warrant.