MISO Board of Directors Meeting Briefs

Board, Chairman Norman Bay Talk CPP Modeling, Renewable Dispersion

Mar 28, 2016

FERC Chairman Norman Bay joined the MISO Board of Directors in its discussion of Clean Power Plan modeling.

NEW ORLEANS — MISO will commence its long-term Clean Power Plan analysis in July regardless of the existing Supreme Court stay, Clair Moeller, executive vice president of transmission and technology, told the Board of Directors last week. Moeller said the RTO would provide individual state data to officials in all states, including those having placed a “hard stop” on CPP preparations.

FERC Chairman Norman Bay at MISO Board of Directors (copyright RTO Insider) — Bay *© RTO Insider*

FERC Chairman Norman Bay, who attended the board meeting, said he hoped MISO states challenging the CPP and halting compliance work had a “Plan B.” He also thanked the RTO for its “uniquely constructive and pragmatic voice” in supporting the measure.

“We know we’re on a glide path already with low-cost wind turbines, lower-cost solar panels and greater efficiency,” board member Tom Rainwater said. He asked how the economics of renewable penetration would play out even if the CPP is struck down.

Moeller called that one of the more complicated questions MISO would seek to answer through remaining modeling, saying the RTO’s “job is to plan into an uncertain future.”

MISO-Board-of-Directors-Meeting-(copyright-RTO-Insider) with Norman Bay — MISO Board of Directors Meeting *© RTO Insider*

Bay said that if analysts are correct in predicting a 50% decline in the cost of storage by 2020, storage technology could be a “game changer” for renewable penetration.

“Everyone knows the cost of energy storage will decline,” Bay said. “It’s a question of how much and when. … This is an area where I expect FERC to do more work and work to remove barriers to entry.”

MISO YTD Financials 1% Over Budget

MISO’s year-to-date February financials came in $400,000 — or 1.1% — over the RTO’s $36 million budget for the period.

Most of the overage — $300,000 in additional costs for “compliance and process-improvement activities” is a permanent variance, said Vice President of Finance Jo Biggers, who said MISO was seeking to trim other spending to make up for the shortfall.

“We’re still forecasting to be on budget by the end of the year,” Biggers said.

Board member Paul Bonavia noted that the board had “only just finalized the budget, and we already have a permanent variance.”

“We’re going to figure out a way to cover it by reducing costs somewhere else,” MISO CEO John Bear told the board.

The overrun occurred despite MISO spending only $6 million of its forecasted $7.1 million capital budget, mostly because of project delays. Biggers said capital spending is expected to fall in line by the end of March when projects catch up to their timelines.