By Amanda Durish Cook

FERC last week approved a MISO compliance filing regarding its cost allocation method for resources committed for voltage or local reliability (VLR) requirements but required the RTO to make its study process on “commercially significant” voltage problems more transparent (ER12-678-005).

“Although we find that MISO has complied with most of the directives in the June 2014 order, we agree with the protesters that MISO did not adequately comply with other directives; as a result, the Tariff needs further clarification,” FERC wrote.

The ruling originates from two filings MISO made in December 2011. One proposed that the local balancing authority (LBA) area shoulder more of the costs resulting from VLR requirements. The second proposed a mechanism to mitigate the ability of resources needed for voltage support to exercise market power. After holding a technical conference, FERC conditionally accepted the proposals.

In a June 30, 2014, order, the commission put limits on the discretion of transmission owners to determine if a VLR commitment is commercially significant and put more emphasis on stakeholder participation in the determination.

The determination of whether a VLR issue is commercially significant is based on the frequency of occurrence and monetary impact. The costs of those judged commercially significant are spread more broadly among LBAs than those determined to be local.

NRG, TDUs Complain

NRG Energy and four transmission-dependent utilities — Midwest Madison Gas and Electric, Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, Missouri River Energy Services and WPPI Energy — protested last year’s compliance filing, saying MISO should be required to conduct regular meetings with stakeholders and share information used to perform studies.

The commission rejected on procedural grounds NRG’s request that MISO be required to provide the study model. But it agreed with the complainants that MISO had not done enough to make the study process open and transparent.

“We agree with Midwest TDUs that language added by MISO in the compliance filing … would limit the participation in the study process of local BAAs and interested market participants to merely requesting a study. If these requests will be rolled into the quarterly study process that MISO would normally do anyway, it is unclear how MISO’s additional language would provide an open and transparent study process,” the commission said.

It ordered MISO to add new language permitting LBAs and market participants to participate in the studies and request that reoccurring VLR commitments be studied.

It also directed the RTO to hold regular meetings with stakeholders similar to those conducted when identifying system support resources under the Tariff, saying it “will provide more meaningful participation and opportunity to provide feedback.”

“With regard to a market participant’s access to data during the study process, we agree with Midwest TDUs that MISO’s proposal to limit access to such data to those parties that request the study has not been shown to be in compliance with the June 2014 order,” FERC continued.

It required MISO to provide all the assumptions and outputs of the model to any party that is liable for VLR-related charges that signs a non-disclosure agreement.