CARMEL, Ind. — FERC has extended the comment period on MISO’s proposed forward capacity auction to Dec. 14 (ER17-284).

The extension — requested by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and not opposed by MISO — should not affect the RTO’s ability to implement the auction in time for the 2018/19 planning year, said Richard Doying, executive vice president of operations and corporate services.

At the Board of Directors’ Markets Committee meeting on Dec. 6, Independent Market Monitor David Patton told the board he was preparing a filing for next week to express his ongoing concerns with the proposal. (See MISO Files Forward Capacity Auction Plan with FERC.)

Director Phyllis Currie asked if MISO had given thought to a contingency plan if FERC takes longer than expected to decide. Doying said MISO is holding off on releasing alternate plans for now.

MISO Awaits FERC Queue Decision

MISO expects a decision from FERC on its queue reform proposal by year-end, Vice President of System Planning and Seams Coordination Jennifer Curran said.

Curran predicted gradual queue improvement in 2017 as the new rules are phased in.

At the September board meeting in St. Paul, Minn., Curran said MISO is hoping to build more certainty into the process that would reduce restudies and the amount of time it takes for projects to clear the queue. “It’s currently a two- to three-year process and is challenged by restudies,” she said.

FERC rejected MISO’s first proposal in March, saying the RTO improperly assumed the current backlog could be blamed on “speculative” projects and “fail[ed] to consider other potential factors” (ER16-675). (See MISO: Stakeholders Behind 2nd Queue Reform Attempt.)

— Amanda Durish Cook