The heads of MISO and SPP stood on common ground to discuss seams issues during last week’s Organization of MISO States’ annual meeting.

The CEOs’ unified front during the virtual conference Thursday was a striking change from the executives’ past reticence on seams matters.

MISO CEO John Bear acknowledged that both RTOs are “struggling” with their renewables-packed interconnection queues.

“We’ve really built our systems out from our footprint perspective,” he said, explaining that MISO and SPP have developed renewable generation near the seams, sometimes disregarding the congestion the projects can cause on each other’s systems. He said in some cases, seams congestion has been neglected to the point that an interconnecting generator is “looking over a cliff” of interconnection expenses.

Bear said he and SPP CEO Barbara Sugg agreed that they needed to perform studies on the most congested areas.

The RTOs announced in September that they will partner on a special study focused on transmission projects that can bring more of the interconnection queues’ renewable generation online. (See MISO, SPP to Conduct Targeted Transmission Study.)

“Look, we’re fighting the same battles,” Sugg said. “And I think the only way you’re going to get a little is to give a little. We’re 100% confident we’re going to produce some really good results. We do share some of the very same pain points.”

Sugg said cost-allocation discussions are not atop the agenda as the RTOs probe possible cross-border interconnection solutions.

“If somebody wants to talk to us about cost allocation in April, we won’t talk about it,” Sugg said, noting that it’s important to keep potential bickering over costs out of an initial search for helpful projects.

“Look, we’re going to have our differences in the future, but I think we’ll be able to keep it out of FERC. I’m optimistic,” she said.

Bear said that MISO-SPP relations have improved by “assuming noble intent on the other side” and having empathy for each other’s challenges.

“At the end of the day, we are businesses competing with each other, but there’s value in being partners,” Sugg said.

Bear said seams management has long been MISO’s modus operandi. When it began its energy market in 2004, MISO had to accommodate PJM member Commonwealth Edison in Chicago, which became an island within MISO’s footprint.

“We’ve had to learn about seams very fast and furiously,” he said.

Sugg said that as the two RTOs expand their footprints, seams arrangements must adjust with every new membership.

“Growth is a fantastic thing … but it definitely makes the seams discussions continue to evolve. It definitely is an ongoing challenge, but one that is worth every minute of effort,” she said. There’s a better appreciation today among regulators of the energy markets’ complexity, she continued.

Sugg said wind is poised to beat out coal this year as SPP’s most used fuel source, a milestone that will come earlier than expected.

“There are so many wind-rich areas in SPP and such clamoring … for energy produced from a renewable source,” she said, noting a “robust transmission system” will be necessary to support the demand for renewables.

Bear said MISO’s own ballooning renewable portfolio has prompted a rethink of its current resource adequacy construct that focuses on a summer peak. Bear said the RTO has a significant loss-of-load risk in some hours in shoulder periods.

“[It’s] so we don’t kid ourselves that we’re reliable in every season, even though some hours might go unserved,” he said.

Sugg predicted FERC Order 2222 — which directs RTOs and ISOs to develop participation models for distributed energy resource aggregations — will have a “humungous” effect on grid operators. (See FERC Opens RTO Markets to DER Aggregation.)

“It’s going to have tremendous impact on us and change what enters the market,” she said.