MISO is recommending that Michigan Electric Transmission Co. (METC) construct a portion of a proposed transmission line intended to upgrade supply for Coldwater, Mich., while rejecting expedited review for a broader proposal.
The RTO is backing a portion of the proposed $65 million Coldwater load interconnection project that would provide the city an additional 18 MW of supply capability by 2017 via a 138-kV tap from an existing METC line. Parent company ITC Holdings sought expedited review of a larger project that would have included an additional 18 MW of capacity by 2021. (See “MISO Receives 1st Expedited Review Request,” MISO Planning Advisory Committee Briefs.)
MISO said it agreed with stakeholders at the Technical Study Task Force, which reviewed the project in March, that only the improvements necessary to manage Coldwater’s 2017 incremental load required expedited treatment. Less pressing work to meet the 2021 goal would be relegated to the MISO 2016 Transmission Expansion Plan.
Of Coldwater’s total load of 88 MW, 65 MW is currently supplied through a single 4.5-mile 138-kV transmission circuit, Thompson Adu, MISO senior manager of transmission expansion planning, told the Planning Advisory Committee last week. New industrial load is expected to push that total to more than 120 MW by 2026.
METC’s proposed radial supply line would carry 83 MW when completed, Adu said.
MISO Adds Tariff Provisions for Identical Market Participant-Funded Projects
MISO has revised its Tariff to comply with a December FERC order requiring a first-come, first-served selection procedure when more than one market participant proposes to fund the same transmission projects.
The process set out in the Tariff will mirror that already represented in a MISO business practices manual.
The issue was brought to light last year when Boston Energy Trading and Marketing and J. Aron & Co. both proposed to fund Ameren Illinois’ Effingham-Effingham NW 138-kV line in Illinois at an estimated cost of more than $1 million.
Boston Energy filed a complaint saying that MISO tried to force it to partner with J. Aron on the project based on language in a BPM but that it lacked Tariff authority to do so.
FERC sided with Boston Energy, saying MISO’s Tariff was unjust and unreasonable because it lacked provisions for processing market participant-funded transmission projects (EL15-89). The commission required new Tariff language that addresses how the RTO “will handle multiple, similar requests for market participant funding of a transmission upgrade.”
The Tariff revisions will mirror BPM language already vetted by the PAC. Adu said the new language will be filed with the commission by the June 20 compliance deadline.
MISO Order 1000 Compliance
MISO is nearing completion of its Order 1000 interregional compliance obligations, said Eric Thoms, the RTO’s manager of planning coordination and strategy.
FERC accepted MISO’s compliance filings with both SPP and Southeastern Regional Transmission Planning, while seeking clarification on cost allocation, interconnection projects and ownership rights in its joint filing with PJM (ER13-1944-001, et al.).
Meanwhile, MISO continues to pursue interregional efforts with its neighbors. At present, 14 projects near the MISO-SPP seam are being considered in MTEP16.
MISO and PJM have begun searching for “low-cost, quick-implementation upgrades” as part of their 2016 quick hits study process. Thoms said there was “value” in the quick hits studies, but the process needs to be formalized to reflect cost allocation.
“If we’re looking at low-hanging fruit … there’s no need for [multiple regional approval processes],” he said.
MISO and PJM have also completed two targeted studies from 2015 on the Michigan-Indiana and Quad Cities interfaces.
“We’ll continue to monitor this issue,” Thoms said.
— Amanda Durish Cook
