By Amanda Durish Cook
With about six months left before it seeks approval, MISO is polishing a draft 2019 Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP) that could end up being one of the RTO’s most expensive buildout packages.
The draft so far contains 518 new projects at $4.3 billion to be recommended for approval. Included are 65 new projects valued at $771 million up for consideration in MISO South, stakeholders learned Wednesday at a subregional planning meeting.
MTEP 19 is so far clocking in at $1 billion more than the $3.3 billion, 442-project MTEP 18. (See MISO Board OKs Full MTEP 18 over Stakeholder Complaints.) MTEP 11, which contained the Multi-Value Project portfolio, holds the record for the most expensive proposal at $6.5 billion.
The highest-cost MTEP transmission projects in recent years have been in MISO South, which held five of the top 10 most expensive projects in MTEP 16 and MTEP 18, and eight of the top 10 costliest in MTEP 17.
MISO South Replacement Project
One of the priciest MISO South projects recommended in MTEP 19 will negate the need for two costlier projects approved for southern Louisiana the two previous years.
Cleco and Entergy’s proposed $81.5 million joint project near Lafayette can replace the North and East Acadiana Load Pocket (ALP) transmission projects that were set to cost a combined $213.1 million.
MISO engineer Patrick Jehring said the replacement Sellers LeBlanc project is poised to save customers $131.6 million, and the cost difference is the only “differentiating factor” between the projects. He said MISO supports the withdrawal of the ALP projects.
He praised Cleco and Entergy for working together on a lower-cost solution.
“This is really a good story to tell, and really only happened because of … significant collaboration between entities,” Jehring said. “The only way we got here is through engagement with Cleco, Entergy and the Lafayette Utilities System.”
The Sellers LeBlanc project involves a new 19-mile 138-kV line and a series reactor on an existing nearby 138-kV line for $66.7 million from Entergy. Cleco will take on the remaining $14.8 million by tying the new line into an existing 138-kV line and constructing a new autotransformer.
The project will resolve the overloading risk of multiple 138-kV lines around Lafayette. Additionally, MISO said there is approximately 300 MW of load in the Abbeville, La., area served by just one 230-kV line.
“It’s pretty obvious that we want to go with the cheaper project,” Jehring said. “We’ve truly identified the least-cost solution here.”
Jehring encouraged stakeholders to provide written feedback on the proposed project.
Shortlist from MCPS
Meanwhile, MISO’s 2019 Market Congestion Planning Study (MCPS) has identified a short list of potential projects, with seven project candidates proposing to solve three separate issues making the first round of screening.
Three 345-kV projects ranging from $32 million to $85 million propose to solve congestion issues on the Helena-to-Scott County 345-kV line in southern Minnesota. MISO Economic Studies Engineer Karthik Munukutla said all three solutions are potentially eligible for market efficiency project categorization and cost sharing.
Two projects — a $58 million, 161-kV line rebuild and a $20 million new substation — are proposed to solve congestion on a 161-kV flowgate on the Iowa-Nebraska border. Finally, two new 115-kV lines at either $35 million or $37 million are competing to solve congestion on a 115-kV flowgate in southwest Arkansas. Munukutla said the four projects deal with MISO-SPP seams issues and will be added to the RTOs’ ongoing coordinated system plan study to see whether they’d make beneficial interregional projects.
Munukutla said he wanted to share preliminary MCPS results so stakeholders get an idea of which projects stand to provide the most value after initial transmission analyses. He said MISO expects to have more certainty in July about what projects may be selected from the study.
