Critical and interconnected systems, such as electric power system infrastructure, water infrastructure, urban/built environments, and transportation infrastructure, are vulnerable to climate-related events such as extreme temperatures, prolonged drought, wildfires, ice storms, flooding, and hurricanes. Because these systems have multiple linkages, dependencies, and interfaces, activity in one system may impact operations in another. As system planners and operators move towards proactively adapting infrastructure and practices to better withstand current and future climate extremes, coordinating adaptation planning across sectors and organizations may enhance adaptation planning outcomes and optimize benefits across sectors and systems.
For three years, EPRI’s Exploring Climate Impacts in Utility Operations and Planning Interest Group (ECI IG) has convened an expert forum focused on systematically characterizing the potential impacts of climate change (“climate impact pathways”) across the entire electricity system. In 2023, the scope of the ECI IG expanded to include climate impacts to sectors adjacent to the electric power sector. In the second half of 2023, the ECI IG presented two Coordinated Adaptation Planning webcasts as part of a priority research activity selected by interest group participants. These webcasts explored the definition of coordinated adaptation planning, case studies of coordinated adaptation in practice, and proposed benefits of and challenges to coordinated adaptation planning and execution.
This document provides a summary of discussions and insights from the Coordinated Adaptation Planning webcasts.