By Amanda Durish Cook

MISO will not ask FERC to rehear its previously rejected Competitive Retail Solution, which would have applied a sloped demand curve and three-year forward capacity auction to the RTO’s retail-choice areas.

MISO spokesperson Jay Hermacinski last week confirmed the decision.

The RTO also notified stakeholders by letter, explaining that its stance was influenced by improved planning efforts from Michigan and Illinois and FERC’s current limbo. (See Backlog, Delays Feared as FERC Loses Quorum.)

“Following our filing of the CRS proposal, near-term resource adequacy circumstances have improved with passage of legislation in Michigan and Illinois, as well as other factors such as increased ability to import capacity into those states,” the letter read.

Late last year, Illinois and Michigan — which maintains a 10% retail choice cap — passed legislation to subsidize nuclear plants and provide a blanket energy policy, respectively. (See Illinois Lawmakers Clear Nuke Subsidy and Michigan Energy Bill Preserves RPS, 10% Retail Choice Cap.)

MISO reiterated its commitment to work with Illinois regulators, lawmakers and utilities to address potential future capacity shortages. The issue will also be taken up with stakeholders at the March 8 Resource Adequacy Subcommittee meeting.

The RTO said its “immediate next steps” will focus on coordinating its resource adequacy process with Illinois in particular.

“While Illinois has addressed some short-term concerns around potentially retiring capacity, critical additional tools are still needed to ensure improved long-term price signals for committed capacity to reliably serve consumers in the state,” MISO said. “Given this, we have concluded the most productive near-term effort is working closely with state officials and Illinois stakeholders who continue the work of developing a state-based approach to fully address long-term resource adequacy requirements.”

FERC’s current uncertainty also figured into the RTO’s reasoning. It is unclear when new commissioners will be appointed and a quorum restored to address a rehearing, MISO said.

The RTO will continue to work on “solutions focused on competitive retail areas that do not implicate the traditionally regulated areas of the MISO region” and maintain separation between rules for vertically integrated utilities and competitive retail suppliers.

“The FERC order does not change that commitment,” MISO said.

At a Feb. 21 Informational Forum, MISO CEO John Bear attempted to calm what he called “some trepidation among stakeholders, saying the RTO will not apply a forward market or sloped demand curve systemwide.

“We’re going to stand by that,” Bear said.

However, given the “brevity” of FERC’s order (ER17-284), MISO is interested in getting more detail from the commission, Bear said. It is still unclear whether or not MISO will receive detailed commission guidance. (See FERC Rejects MISO’s 3-Year Forward Auction Proposal.)