The purposes of the Energy Planning and Management Program (EPAMP) are to meet the objectives of Section 114 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPAct) and to extend long-term firm power resource commitments while supporting customer integrated resource planning (IRP); demand-side management (DSM), including energy efficiency, conservation, and load management; and the use of renewable energy. Subpart B, Integrated Resource Planning, allows customers of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) to meet the objectives of section 114 of EPAct through integrated resource planning or by other means, such as attaining a minimum level of investment in energy efficiency and/or renewable energy, collecting a charge to support defined public benefits, or complying with a mandated energy efficiency and/or renewable energy reporting requirement.

Administrator means Western's Administrator.

Customer means any entity that purchases firm capacity, with or without energy, from Western under a long-term firm power contract. The term also includes a member-based association (MBA) and its distribution or user members that receive direct benefit from Western's power, regardless of which holds the contract with Western.

Energy efficiency and/or renewable energy (EE/RE) report means the report documenting energy efficiency and/or renewable energy activities imposed by a State, Tribal, or the Federal Government upon a State, Tribal, or Federal end-use customer within its jurisdiction.

Integrated resource planning means a planning process for new energy resources that evaluates the full range of alternatives, including new generating capacity, power purchases, energy conservation and efficiency, cogeneration and district heating and cooling applications, and renewable energy resources, to provide adequate and reliable service to a customer's electric consumers.

Integrated resource planning cooperative (IRP cooperative) means a group of Western's customers and/or their distribution or user members with geographic, resource supply, or other similarities that have joined together, with Western's approval, to complete an IRP.

Member-based association (MBA) means:

(1) An entity composed of member utilities or user members, or

(2) An entity that acts as an agent for, or subcontracts with, but does not assume power supply responsibility for its principals or subcontractors, who are its members.

Minimum investment report means the report documenting a mandatory minimum level of financial or resource investment in demand-side management (DSM) initiatives, including energy efficiency and load management, and/or renewable energy activities, such as investment of a set minimum percentage of the utility's gross revenues in renewable energy, which is imposed by State, Tribal, or Federal law upon a customer under its jurisdiction. For the purposes of this part, the minimum investment report includes reports about public benefits charges, as well.

Public benefits charge means a mandatory financial charge imposed by State, Tribal, or Federal law upon a customer under its jurisdiction to support one or more of the following: energy efficiency, conservation, or demand-side management; renewable energy; efficiency or alternative energy-related research and development; low-income energy assistance; and/or other similar programs defined by applicable State, Tribal, or Federal law. This term is also known as a public goods or system benefit charge in the utility industry.

Region means a Western regional office or management center, and the geographic territory served by that regional office or management center: the Desert Southwest Customer Service Region, the Rocky Mountain Customer Service Region, the Sierra Nevada Customer Service Region, the Upper Great Plains Customer Service Region, or the Colorado River Storage Project Management Center.

Renewable energy means any source of electricity that is self-renewing, including plant-based biomass, waste-based biomass, geothermal, hydropower, ocean thermal, solar (active and passive), and wind.

Small customer means a utility customer with total annual sales and usage of 25 gigawatthours (GWh) or less, as averaged over the previous 5 years, which is not a member of a joint-action agency or generation and transmission cooperative with power supply responsibility; or any end-use customer.

Western means the Western Area Power Administration.