NEW ORLEANS — The outgoing president of the Organization of MISO States used his final address to the MISO community to once again press the RTO to develop a long-term transmission plan.

“We came together to encourage MISO to come together and study long-term transmission needs,” OMS President Daniel Hall said Thursday during a look-back at the organization’s 2019 accomplishments at its annual meeting. Hall attended the meeting via telephone, kept home by illness.

“There is nothing radical in these principles. … However, our goal was to jump-start the conversation on long-term needs in the footprint,” Hall said, referring to the set of transmission planning principles state regulators released in June. OMS has for months insisted that the RTO study creating a long-term transmission planning package similar to the 2011 multi-value project (MVP) portfolio. (See MISO Cracks Door on Long-term Tx Planning.)

In a review released earlier this month, MISO said the MVP package continues to show $16 billion to $57 billion in benefits, with a benefit-cost ratio ranging from 1.8:1 to 3.1:1.

“The current planning process is not sustainable. In fact, many stakeholders would say it’s broken,” Hall said. He urged MISO to put together a “thoughtful and comprehensive” long-term transmission plan study.

“Failure to do so will result in missed opportunities,” Hall said, referencing reliability benefits, reduced customer costs and accommodation of a growing renewables fleet.

MISO CEO John Bear said OMS’ long-range transmission planning principles are “a great call to action.”

OMS members also elected Minnesota Public Utilities Commissioner, and current vice president, Matt Schuerger as their 2020 president, a role he’ll take on two months early, as Hall plans to exit the Missouri Public Service Commission next month. North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak was elected vice president.

– Amanda Durish Cook