MISO and SPP told state regulators Monday that their joint targeted interconnection queue study has moved into its technical phase and promised more stakeholder involvement in the effort in the months ahead.
Speaking to the Organization of MISO States and SPP Regional State Committee’s Seams Liaison Committee (SLC), MISO’s Aubrey Johnson and SPP’s Antoine Lucas said RTO staff and study leaders have been meeting monthly since the effort was announced in September.
The RTOs’ leadership has tasked staff with identifying “comprehensive, cost-effective and efficient” upgrade projects, with a focus on projects near their seam that support both organizations’ interconnection processes. (See MISO, SPP to Conduct Targeted Transmission Study.)
Johnson, MISO’s executive director of system planning, said sticky cost-allocation discussions have been pushed back in the schedule until staff come up with initial solutions.
“We certainly recognize that could take some time,” Johnson said.
“Once we can get some solutions we can really focus around on the table, that’s when we can have a lot more discussion around how to move those things forward,” said Lucas, SPP’s engineering vice president.
The two executives promised more stakeholder involvement, beginning with a joint stakeholder meeting June 25. Three additional meetings have been scheduled for Sept. 22, Oct. 18 and Dec. 13. The final report is scheduled to be presented during the December meeting.
Staff said they are developing common solutions and plan to use February’s arctic event to inform their work.
The authors of a recent report on planning improvements and the increased deployment of renewable resources told regulators that the industry has “great hope” that the MISO-SPP study will result in new interregional projects and prove to be a best practice that would “improve each regions’ understanding of interactions and opportunities” with neighboring regions.
The report, produced by Concentric Energy Advisors for the American Council on Renewable Energy and released last month, was based on interviews with SPP, MISO and PJM stakeholders and market participants. It emphasized the need for implementing planning reforms and moving toward a “centrally coordinated and integrated” planning process. (See ACORE: Lack of Interregional Tx Planning Slowing Wind, Solar Development.)
“What’s been going on in the MISO-SPP seams study and what this committee is doing are all in line with the recommendations we have made,” said Concentric’s Julie Lieberman, the report’s lead writer.
With its work winding down, the SLC suggested meeting on a quarterly basis. The committee has recommended evaluating targeted market efficiency products (MISO’s TMEP projects) and has suggested a working group to inventory and measure interest in rate pancaking along the seam.
