The Stakeholder Governance Working Group (SGWG) narrowly avoided retirement in a 10-7 vote at MISO’s Feb. 23 Advisory Committee meeting.

Speaking on behalf of MISO’s Transmission-Dependent Utility sector, Gary Mathis said it was too early to sunset the group because management plan language stipulates it should be retired only “after redesign implementation.”

“I would place an abundance of caution on [retiring] this today,” Mathis said. “We’re going to learn things in the implementation that will need to be discussed further and captured in the governance guide.”

Mathis added it would be impossible for the group to fully implement its redesign by March. Exelon’s Marka Shaw asked why the group could not be absorbed into the Steering Committee as originally planned.

Mathis said he was concerned that new participants might interrupt the continuity of redesign work. “You’ll have the institutional memory running through this,” he said.

Mathis said he expected the SGWG to remain busy until at least after mid-2016, as the group would next focus its attention on setting priorities for 2016.

Ten voting members were in favor of the extension, with seven opposed and three abstentions. Use of the revised governance guide and fillable issues form were also approved by general consent at the meeting. (See MISO Stakeholders Finish Governance Guide Changes.)

While the SGWG was left standing, MISO’s Data Transparency Working Group is expected to retire as planned after a final March 7 meeting. Subsequent data requests will be processed through the Steering Committee. Tom Welch, MISO liaison to the DTWG, said the internal review process will be largely unaffected by the change, with updates still delivered using MISO’s data request tracking spreadsheet.

Additionally, MISO’s Regional Expansion Criteria and Benefits Working Group was transitioned from a task force and will begin to report to the Advisory Committee, which approved the group’s charter and management plan during a Feb. 24 meeting.

AC to Begin Setting Priorities, Conducts Elections for RASC Chairs

Two months into 2016, MISO’s Advisory Committee is still working to set priorities for the year.

“I know it’s late in the year, but as the Advisory Committee, we need to determine what our priorities are,” committee Chair Audrey Penner said Feb. 24.

Penner said the committee should base its choices on MISO’s five identified priorities for 2016: the Clean Power Plan, electric-gas coordination, seams optimization, grid technology advancement and enabling infrastructure development.

The committee also discussed nominations for chair and vice chair of the newly created Resource Adequacy Subcommittee.

Tia Elliott, director of regulatory affairs at NRG Energy, said electronic ballots would be sent to stakeholders following the Advisory Committee’s Feb. 23 approval of the RASC charter and management plan. As in the Advisory Committee, votes conducted in the RASC are not binding.

RASC leaders should be elected in time for the group’s first meeting scheduled for March 2 at MISO’s Little Rock offices.

Nominating Committee Elections to be Held Earlier

Two stakeholder vacancies on the Nominating Committee for the MISO Board of Directors need to be filled more quickly than usual, according to Michelle Bloodworth, MISO executive director of external and stakeholder affairs.

MISO plans to hold elections for the vacant positions during the March 23 Advisory Committee meeting. Bloodworth attributed the need for a quick turnaround to the board’s new, pared-down meeting schedule.

The committee consists of three independent board members and two stakeholders appointed by the Advisory Committee.

Citigroup Energy’s Barry Trayers said he would like to resume efforts to change the Nominating Committee structure, which stalled last year. He noted that other MISO committees have larger numbers of stakeholder representatives, typically one from each sector.

“The stakeholders right now are outnumbered 3-to-2 on the committee, and I don’t think that’s appropriate,” Trayers said.

Bloodworth said that the Corporate Governance and Strategic Planning Committee would need to alter the Nominating Committee’s bylaws before more seats could be added to the panel.

“I think that’s something we’ll take under advisement,” Penner said.

— Amanda Durish Cook