Abstract For a long time, the planning of power systems has considered technical and economic aspects related to Supply Side Management. Given that this traditional planning approach is not very flexible, and due to new technological trends like the adoption of smart grids, it has become necessary for demand to play an active role in the operation of power systems. This raises the need to implement a new process for power system planning, focusing on technologies such as microgrids with Demand Side Management, which contribute to the sustainable development of communities. In this paper, a comprehensive review of microgrid planning, considering energy end‐user participation through Demand Response, is carried out. In addition, the main features and implications of Demand Response programs in microgrid planning are presented. As a contribution, in order to trigger a paradigm shift on how power systems are planned, the benefits of bottom‐up microgrid planning are presented.