By Amanda Durish Cook
MISO’s proposal to put time limits on its alternative dispute resolution process with RTO members is still missing key details, FERC said Monday.
In a deficiency letter issued July 30, the commission asked MISO for multiple specifics on its plan to set limits on the amount of time MISO members have to initiate alternative dispute resolution measures with the RTO over market settlements (ER18-1648).
MISO’s alternative dispute resolution process is used in place of a lawsuit or FERC complaint when parties seek to negotiate contractual disputes over settlements. The RTO’s current Tariff doesn’t contain provisions that “categorically bar settlement disputes raised after a long time,” according to MISO.
MISO has proposed giving members a limit of 90 days to request either an informal or formal alternative dispute resolution and 120 days for MISO and members to resolve settlement disputes. MISO itself would have two years from the operating day in question to make resettlement corrections. Resettlement outside of the two-year cutoff would require MISO and the participant to seek a Tariff waiver with FERC.
MISO’s May Tariff filing provided for a two-year limit for adjustment of “any billing, invoice or settlement statement with respect to any transmission service under the Tariff” and “any settlement statement with respect to any market activity or other service under the Tariff” involving “a system or software error of the transmission provider.”
But FERC has asked MISO to define the terms “system error” and “software error.” It has also ordered MISO to define the meaning of “readily discoverable, one-time MISO errors” and asked if the RTO foresees any short-term errors that are not “readily discoverable.”
The commission is also requiring MISO to clear up when the 90-day timeframe begins and if an “extended delay in the resolution of a settlement dispute or [an alternative dispute resolution] dispute by MISO” could possibly limit the resettlement of incorrect billings under the two-year limit.
FERC also inquired about a hypothetical situation raised by MidAmerican Energy in its comments on the proposal , which said that MISO could violate its two-year correction deadline if a months-long error is discovered and the resettlement period needs to extend to before the operating day or invoice date in question. FERC asked if MISO planned to file an amendment to allow for resettlement for more than two years for such a scenario.
FERC also questioned language in the proposal saying MISO “may make an appropriate adjustment” in “cases involving a system or software error of the transmission provider.”
“The word ‘may’ suggests that MISO is under no obligation to make the ‘appropriate adjustment’ even if a system or software error results in a Tariff customer paying an incorrect amount. Please explain why it is appropriate for MISO to have this discretion,” FERC said.
Lastly, the commission ordered MISO to clarify whether the alternative dispute resolution will apply to both market settlement disputes and transmission service disputes. FERC said certain sections of the proposal indicated it would apply only to market settlement disputes.
MISO lengthened the cutoff periods from the original proposal after stakeholders earlier this year expressed concerns they would need longer than 30 days to research and raise settlement disputes and longer than one year to make settlement corrections. (See MISO Considering Time Limits on Dispute Resolution.) MISO did not propose to place a dollar limit on resettlements. The RTO was aiming to have the deadlines imposed in July.
