Aiming to prevent claims of preferential treatment under its new competitive transmission process, MISO last week released a formal protocol prohibiting bidders from contacting any MISO staff member directly about requests for proposals.
The rules were released as MISO prepares to receive bids on its first competitive transmission project, the Duff-Coleman 345-kV upgrade. (See MISO Seeks Bids on Duff-Coleman Project.)
Brian Pedersen, MISO’s senior manager of competitive transmission services, said the RTO created a new email address (TDQS@misoenergy.org) so transmission developer applicants wouldn’t contact any MISO staffer.
“We’re moving from a workshop environment to a competitive bid environment … and we want to make sure people know how to communicate appropriately,” Pedersen said. “Once we receive proposals, MISO will only respond to procedural questions. … We’re not going to respond to any substantive questions about the [evaluation] and where we’re at in it.”
MISO said it will publicly post a list of received questions and its responses on the MISO competitive transmission webpage.
Meanwhile, stakeholders will continue working into spring on changes to Business Practice Manual 27 to align it with Tariff changes approved by FERC in November regarding the qualification and selection of competitive developers and the pro forma developer’s agreement (ER15-2657, ER15–2658). Redline changes will be discussed at the March and April Planning Advisory Committee meetings. MISO hopes to make the changes effective by May 1.
BPM Changes Completed for Expedited Project Review
MISO presented stakeholders with BPM changes to replace the out-of-cycle review process with the new expedited review procedure.
MISO will now post all valid expedited requests within two weeks of receipt and notify stakeholders of such requests.
The final BPM language concludes almost a year of discussion on the topic, after stakeholders raised objections to Entergy’s Lake Charles transmission upgrades last February. Some critics questioned whether Entergy was seeking to circumvent the competitive bidding process. (See MISO Seeks Stakeholder Input on Out-of-Cycle Process amid Entergy Controversy.)
“We’ve not had an expedited review of the expedited project review,” joked Matt Tackett, a principal adviser for MISO, during a presentation of the final BPM language.
Sean Brady, Wind on the Wires’ regional policy manager, thanked Tackett for not “rushing” stakeholders through the review process. “I really appreciate that,” he said.
MISO said it would not solicit any further input on the BPM language but would delay posting it until the PAC decides whether to endorse it at its February meeting.
MISO Planning Confidentiality, Notification Changes to Attachment Y Procedure
MISO will require more notification and relax some confidentiality rules concerning generator suspensions and retirements and system support resources planning under Tariff changes outlined to the PAC.
The proposed changes would affect the Attachment Y process, which ensures MISO has time to identify transmission needs resulting from the loss of a generator.
The changes would subject black start units and pseudo-tied generators to Attachment Y requirements that units intending to retire or suspend operations provide at least 26 weeks’ notice.
In addition, information made public by a generator owner will no longer be considered private, and information won’t be confidential after a retirement date has passed.
Some public interest organizations said MISO should make Attachment Y notices public upon their filing, as in PJM. MISO said a 2012 FERC order directed the RTO to keep Attachment Y notices and study results confidential for units that do not qualify as an SSR (ER12-2302).
MISO may also require a new Attachment Y notice 26 weeks prior to the change in status of a SSR unit wishing to retire or alter its agreement, MISO’s Neil Shah said.
Several market participants said that the current 36-month cumulative time limit on generator suspension in a five-year period and the 26-week notice requirement would need to be adjusted under MISO’s proposed switch to a four-month summer and an eight-month winter capacity construct. Shah said that suggestion will be considered only once capacity market changes are finalized.
Generation owners would have to file directly with FERC to determine how much they will be compensated for fixed costs under an SSR and complete either an OASIS posting or a FERC filing to terminate interconnection rights. Suspended generators unable to return to service at the end of suspension period will be considered retired and have their interconnection rights terminated.
Shah said MISO’s decision to change the process is based on experience gained since 2012. Tariff changes will be filed by Feb. 26; MISO is requesting an effective date of May 1.
Work on MTEP17 Futures to Continue Through September
Work on changes to the Transmission Expansion Plan futures process will last through the first three quarters of 2016, Matt Ellis from MISO’s policy studies unit told the PAC. “This is really more a teaser for what’s to come in 2016,” Ellis said of his presentation.
MISO said the new futures process, set to take effect beginning with MTEP17, will use familiar procedures. As with previous MTEPs, final decisions will be made during PAC meetings, while technical details will be hashed out in workshops.
MISO plans to review its resource siting methodology for use in PROMOD models beginning in March and finalize it in July. (See “CPP to Play Role in Reworked Futures Development,” MISO Planning Advisory Committee Briefs.) “We’ve had basically the same siting information for years, so we’ve worked time into the process for re-siting,” Ellis said.
The RTO said it wants to employ a scenario-based analysis with the possibility for many outcomes rather than the least-cost plan under a single scenario. “The scenarios should simulate likely or plausible real-life future system conditions and provide an envelope of outcomes that is significantly broad, rather than a single expected forecast,” MISO wrote.
MISO is hoping to review draft results of the new futures process by the August PAC. “We want to wrap up the whole MTEP17 futures planning process by September,” Ellis said.
Ellis is asking for feedback by Feb. 10 on MISO’s proposed timeline, which he says is subject to change.
— Amanda Durish Cook
