MISO’s Advisory Committee has narrowed down the list of topics it expects to include in the first version of its 2016 priorities document.

The committee’s current draft lists five priorities, including seams optimization, infrastructure development, grid technology, the Clean Power Plan and gas-electric coordination. The document is intended to guide MISO parent entities in their decision-making.

“This document is not set in stone — it’s a living, breathing document,” Audrey Penner, Advisory Committee chair, told stakeholders during an April 27 meeting. “If we come out of this all a little bit unhappy … then we have achieved success, as far as I’m concerned.”

In response to multiple requests for greater prioritization of market issues, Penner said the committee could either create separate priorities covering improved markets and price formation, or fold market considerations into an existing priority.

Kent Felix, with the Power Marketers sector, suggested giving each parent entity its own set of priorities. But Advisory Committee Vice Chair Tia Elliott said more than three to five priorities would create too many areas of focus.

DeWayne Todd, with the End-Use Customers sector, said he could support what was already laid out, but he thought some of the priorities were too narrowly defined. He said the Clean Power Plan and gas-electric coordination were “too tactical” to be overarching topics.

Paul Kelley, with the Transmission Owners sector, said gas-electric coordination deserved a spot on the list because of MISO’s rapidly changing generation mix and the potential for additional FERC rulings to enhance alignment of the two industries. (See FERC OKs MISO Use of Eastern Standard Time in Day-Ahead Market.)

The Competitive Transmission Developers sector asked to include refinements to the competitive solicitation process, while the Independent Power Producers sector proposed removing gas-electric coordination in favor of a market performance and enhancement priority.

The Transmission Owners sector asked for the inclusion of a sixth “Other” category to assess the criteria and costs of market efficiency projects, consider implementation of FERC market-related initiatives and evaluate the competitive transmission development process.

The Power Marketers sector proposed a complete overhaul of the priorities document, suggesting that a price formation priority replace grid enhancement, an “enhance operations” priority replace gas-electric coordination and removing the federal rule priority in favor of a “regulation implementation” priority, with a subcategory dedicated to developing new market products.

The Public Consumer Advocates and Coordinating Members sectors, on the other hand, said the current draft was acceptable as is.

Penner asked for feedback by May 11 to inform a final document, which should be completed ahead of a vote at the May 25 committee meeting.

Economist Joins MISO Finance Subcommittee

The Advisory Committee elected Pradeep Sircar to represent consumer advocates in MISO’s Finance Subcommittee. Sircar, an applied economist with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, currently analyzes the MISO and PJM markets and has previously worked at MISO and CAISO. In his 30-plus years of experience, Sircar also worked with the Nevada Public Utilities Commission, Iowa Utilities Board, Ohio Edison and Northern Indiana Public Service Co.

— Amanda Durish Cook