[EDITOR’S NOTE: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Travis Stewart is with the Coalition of MISO Transmission Customers; he is with the Coalition of Midwest Power Producers.]
MISO Stakeholders on the Resource Adequacy Subcommittee are chafing at the RTO’s new slimmed-down meeting schedule that calls for eight “super weeks” of in-person meetings.
Stakeholders pushed back on MISO’s plan to group all stakeholder meetings of its main parent entities into eight separate weeks during the year. That would mean five all-day meetings will be packed into a single week. (See MISO Wants Abridged Stakeholder Meeting Schedule.)
The grid operator has promised that while it is reducing the number of meetings, the amount of information it conveys will remain the same. The Market Subcommittee, Reliability Subcommittee, Resource Adequacy Subcommittee, Planning Advisory Committee, and Regional Expansion Criteria and Benefits Working Group are all affected.
RASC Chair Chris Plante said stakeholders have “relevant” concerns about how information that used to be delivered monthly will be communicated just eight times per year.
“I’m very interested in hearing from stakeholders how these gaps might occur,” Plante said.
Travis Stewart, representing the Coalition of Midwest Power Producers, said he and his customers found monthly RASC meetings helpful during the leadup to the April Planning Resource Auction. He asked staff to devise a way to update stakeholders on capacity auction deadlines and developments.
WPPI Energy’s Joe Greene asked that meeting dates, which have not yet been set, be finalized as quickly as possible.
“I personally don’t see this proposal as coming from the stakeholders,” Customized Energy Solutions’ Ted Kuhn said. He said he had not heard stakeholders asking for fewer or shorter meetings and said the new seasonal auction design is evidence that monthly meetups may still be required.
Plante said the RASC “has the prerogative to establish its own meeting schedule” per the Stakeholder Governance Guide and could add more meetings to the calendar. He said the subcommittee could “pencil in” monthly meetings, noting it’s easier to scratch plans than try to organize a last-minute meeting.
“We can always cancel the meeting if there’s nothing to talk about,” he told stakeholders. “In some respects, this is being driven by the Advisory Committee, so I would encourage all of you to approach your sector representatives.”
Consumers Energy’s Mary Long said the new schedule’s uncertainty is disrupting business travel plans and snarling stakeholders’ vacation plans.
“I think this is perhaps convenient for MISO employees, but it’s not convenient for stakeholders,” she said. “What I’ve heard is stakeholder committees have the power to determine the cadence and content of the meetings, rather than MISO forcing a cadence.”
Cleco Cajun’s Tia Elliott said MISO should have held a stakeholder discussion to gather feedback rather than announcing the schedule change through an email to committee chairs.
Bob Kuzman, the RTO’s customer affairs director, said the move doesn’t have to be permanent, but it does represent the grid operator’s return to in-person meetings as the COVID-19 pandemic eases up.
He said the new schedule will give MISO staff and stakeholders a breather between monthly meetings to prepare discussions.
“We get in the cycle of present, get ready for meetings, present, get ready for meetings,” Kuzman said. “What I ask for is patience at this time to look, evaluate … and see if this works. If it doesn’t, we’re happy to reassess.”
Customized Energy Solutions’ David Sapper said the new meeting schedule might again put the onus on stakeholders to prepare discussions and presentations. He said stakeholders have lately been relying on staff to come up with all discussion points.
