Electric power systems are subject to uncertainties of many types and at many levels. In addition to the uncertain fuel prices, demand growth, and equipment outages included in traditional models, current trends portend increasing uncertainty due to such factors as the growth in generation from renewable sources which may be intermittent, the possibility of regulations to control carbon emissions, and the increasing price responsiveness of demand encouraged by smart grid technologies. This paper begins by discussing issues that confront electric system planners and explains the requirements for useful tools. We continue with a description of academic and commercial planning models for the energy grid and conclude with a description of computational tools to support optimization for large scale planning models in the presence of uncertainty. For illustration, we include a proposed model for electric system planning that includes linkages with transportation systems.