As Vice President, Power Supply for Highview Power & Light, Paul Swanson had aggressively recruited independent suppliers of renewable energy into the company’s power portfolio. For his efforts, the company had received good press as well as praise from members of the Public Utilities Commission.

But his main wind power suppliers had wild swings in output, sometimes missing contractual targets by 20 percent or more and other times overshooting by just as much when electricity demand was low. They were working to improve, and it’s not as though there were others in the region that could step in and do any better.

But the high cost of buying electricity on the spot market to compensate for when suppliers under-delivered was putting Highview under financial pressure. And recently, when he curtailed the same suppliers from providing electricity in excess of their contracts, they had complained to the PUC and the media.

If Paul couldn’t figure out a way to help his supply partners meet forecasts and contractual targets, his big win was going to turn into a fiasco. But he also had to look out for company finances.

What can Paul do to smooth the supply of wind-generated electricity to Highview’s transmission and distribution grid?