MISO said Wednesday that it saved members more than $3 billion over the course of 2021.
The grid operator said its value proposition analysis showed a range of $3-$3.8 billion in savings for members that participate in the markets only through bilateral contracts.
The value proposition measures the collective annual savings for members. Last year, MISO estimated it saved its members around $3.5 billion in 2020. (See MISO Touts $3.5B in 2020 Savings for Members.)
The grid operator said on average, it saves its membership about $3.4 billion annually.
MISO said it quantifies benefits through the more efficient use of generation, reduced need for new generation, and the stronger reliability that comes with a resource sharing pool. The grid operator said it has tracked about $36.3 billion in savings since 2007.
The diverse geographic footprint offered the biggest value to members in 2021, saving them $1.7-$2.3 billion, the RTO said. It said differing loads and diverse generation sources has allowed it to operate with a reserve margin of 17.9%. It had been more than 20%.
The grid operator said the system’s additional wind generation has yielded $467-$530 million in savings. MISO also said its ability to optimally dispatch the most economic energy in its real-time and day-ahead markets saved members anywhere from $471 million to $521 million over the year. It estimated savings from heightened reliability at $285-$310 million.
“Our grid is changing at a rapid pace, and MISO is working closely with our member utilities to better understand how their plans will impact the MISO grid,” Wayne Schug, vice president of strategy, said in a press release accompanying the report. “We are committed to ensuring MISO’s value proposition evolves and aligns with the changes impacting our members and MISO.”
