CARMEL, Ind. — At first blush, MISO agrees with FERC’s recent recommendation that NERC develop cold weather reliability standards — but it is still reviewing the commission’s report and the possible implications.

“We do consider it a fair report, with reasonable recommendations,” MISO Reliability Subcommittee liaison Mike McMullen told stakeholders at last week’s RSC meeting.

“It’s relatively new out there, so MISO is still evaluating,” he added.

Among other recommendations, FERC called for new studies that emulate a realistically stressed grid, better communication on the effects of ambient temperature on generation and transmission lines, improved freeze protection measures on generation, and clearer emergency protocols around MISO’s regional dispatch transfer limit between its Midwest and South regions. (See FERC Orders Cold Weather Reliability Standard.)

The commission issued the recommendations after investigating an atypical cold snap in MISO South on Jan. 17, 2018, that led to higher-than-expected demand and caused MISO and SPP to seek voluntary load reductions, nearly forcing load shedding. (See related story, “RTO Applauds FERC, NERC Report on Cold Weather Event,” SPP Board of Directors/MC Briefs: July 30, 2019.)

MISO to Share Cyberattack Data with Feds

MISO is now operating under new rules that will allow it to share nonpublic data with the federal government if it finds itself or its members under a cyberattack.

The RTO last year proposed to share more information on significant cyberattacks with the Department of Homeland Security and other federal governmental agencies when it deems it appropriate. (See MISO Tariff Changes Target Cybersecurity Data Sharing.) FERC approved the new data-sharing strategy in June, despite Exelon’s contention that MISO should specify the types of attacks and narrow the federal agencies receiving reports (ER19-875).

MISO Director of Incident Response and Systems Recovery David Rosenthal said in spring that the RTO anticipates using the information-sharing protocol “rarely, if ever.”

Executive Director of Controls and Engagement Joe Polen told the RSC on Thursday that MISO will only share data on a limited basis and that only its corporate information security officer or cyber director can make the determination.

“We don’t share that information unless we absolutely have to,” Polen explained. “MISO hopes to never need to use the additional data-sharing practices.”

Polen also said MISO can terminate the agreement with Homeland Security at any time.

Northern Indiana Public Service Co.’s Bill SeDoris asked whether members will be notified if MISO shares their information.

“If we do have an event where we have to share information, we will contact the members and let them know what was shared,” Polen responded.

However, MISO legal staff at the meeting said there may be some instances where DHS may want the RTO to delay notifying members for a reasonable period while it investigates and addresses a cyber threat.

MISO Reworking Outage Penalty Conditions

MISO is putting a finer point on the penalty exemption policy under its stricter generation outage scheduling rules.

In June, MISO pitched a plan to exempt resources from accreditation penalties if the length of a submitted outage remained within 10% of the originally scheduled outage window, providing wiggle room to either reduce or lengthen outages. (See “Outage Exemption Talk Ongoing,” Stakeholders: MISO System Fix Too Late for Summer.)

MISO will now allow outage reductions of up to 20% of the original window without triggering a full revaluation of the outage’s impact on expected capacity margins. Those seeking to increase the length will be required to submit an entirely new outage request.

The penalty exemption rules are part of a new policy requiring generators to schedule planned outages 120 days in advance in order to be categorically exempt from possible accreditation penalties; the new process was approved by FERC in late March (ER19-915).

Shift operator Trevor Hines said more members have been in contact with MISO to discuss the nuances of their planned outages since the outage rules were enacted.

“We have been receiving more calls and communications, and we recommend those continue as you approach situations that you need help with. … Those calls have gone very well the last few months,” Hines said.

2 Emergency Warnings in June

June was mostly cooler than usual for MISO, although the South region experienced tight operating conditions and near-emergency calls twice during the month.

Average load for the month was 77.8 GW, lower than the 84.5-GW average a year earlier. The 107.8-GW monthly peak set on June 27 also fell far short of last June’s 121.6-GW peak. During a July Informational Forum, Rob Benbow said average temperatures for the month were lower than normal and 8 degrees lower than in June 2018. Lower loads and fuel prices brought average prices down to $23.07/MWh, 27% year-over-year decrease.

MISO said its reliability, markets and operational functions performed well over the month.

However, MISO issued a maximum generation warning for South on June 3 when load and forced outages crept upward and transmission outages stranded some generation. South was also the subject of a separate maximum generation alert on June 20, again prompted by forced generation outages and transmission outages from storms the night before.

“We were able to manage our way through those conditions,” Benbow said.

MISO has issued real-time generation notifications three months in a row, including a May maximum generation emergency declaration, a June maximum generation warning and conservative operations instructions during a mid-July heatwave.

During the RSC meeting, WPPI Energy economist Valy Goepfrich asked MISO to begin distinguishing in its reports the locations of its maximum generation notifications, based on the Midwest, South or footprint-wide regions.

Telephones and Hot Topics

MISO may change its control room phone system and is asking members for their recommendations and experiences with their own systems. The RTO is circulating a nine-question survey to members to collect information on other phone plan options.

Finally, MISO’s upcoming Hot Topic discussion during September Board Week in St. Paul, Minn., will focus on transformative changes taking place in the energy industry and how the RTO could ease the transition for its member companies. Members are expected to bring their ideas on what future services they may require of MISO during the Sept. 18 conversation.

Director of Market Strategy and Design Scott Wright said he believes the talk will in part center on the trends MISO laid out in its first Forward Report issued earlier this year. (See New MISO Report Starting Point for Major Grid Change.) He said he expects to hear conversation on the need for improved ramp capability, increasing two-way power flows on distribution — and possibly transmission — systems, and how MISO can best manage transactions between the wholesale and retail level.

— Amanda Durish Cook