MISO announced it has received 12 complete proposals from nine developers seeking to construct and own the Hartburg-Sabine Junction 500-kV project, the RTO’s second competitively bid transmission expansion.

MISO had been screening proposals for the Hartburg-Sabine project since it closed the request for proposals window on July 20. As a practice, the RTO does not reveal which developers may have submitted incomplete proposals. (See “MISO Reviewing Hartburg-Sabine Proposals,” MISO Informational Forum Briefs: July 24, 2018.)

MISO said it only reviewed the proposals for completeness and has not vetted the content of the proposals.

“With the final list of complete proposals, we now begin our competitive evaluation phase, which is outlined in the MISO Tariff,” Aubrey Johnson, MISO executive director for system planning and competitive transmission, said in a statement.

MISO said it expects to announce the selected developer by Dec. 31.

The completed proposals come from Avangrid Networks; EasTex TransCo; GridLiance Heartland (with Cleco Energy); Midwest Power Transmission Arkansas; NextEra Energy Transmission Midwest; Transource Energy; Verdant Plains Electric; Xcel Energy Transmission Development Co.; and a joint bid from ITC Midcontinent Development, Hunt Transmission Services and Texas Infrastructure Holdings. MISO did not reveal which developers submitted multiple proposals.

The estimated $129-million, 500-kV line and substation project, intended to alleviate system congestion in eastern Texas, is expected to be in service by 2023. The RTO opened the submittal window in early February after MISO’s Board of Directors approved the project as part of MISO’s 2017 Transmission Expansion Plan. (See MISO Board Approves Texas Competitive Tx Project.)

— Amanda Durish Cook