The MISO South region relied on transfers from the Midwest to handle a record, 33.1-GW winter peak during a Jan. 20-22 storm.
The peak Jan. 22 unseated the previous winter peak of 32.6 GW from Jan. 27, 2024. This year’s storm brought near-blizzard conditions to parts of the Gulf South, with 10 inches of snowfall in New Orleans. MISO South’s topmost demand remains the 35.2 GW the region realized in late August 2023.
Speaking at a Feb. 24 Entergy Regional State Committee meeting, MISO Independent Market Monitor staffer Robert Sinclair said MISO Midwest assisted the South region with large transfers during the storm.
Sinclair said the Midwestern assist demonstrates the value of the South’s membership in MISO. He said footprint-wide, MISO mitigated potential storm impacts through preparation. MISO increased short-term reserve requirements ahead of time, Sinclair said, paving the way for an increase in imports “that helped ease system stress.”
Overall, MISO set a 108-GW winter peak Jan. 22, about 1 GW short of its all-time winter peak. The grid operator did not have to resort to emergency measures to power through the arctic blast.
MISO South adviser Tag Short said MISO’s entire transmission system held up well throughout the storm.
“[That] gets very dicey, when you have ice on the transmission system,” Short said.
Otherwise, Sinclair said voltage and local reliability issues have persisted over the winter in MISO South’s load pockets. He explained the region is short on generation in some locations at times, prompting MISO operators to make out-of-market commitments. Sinclair recommended MISO use short-term reserves instead to price the reliability issues and lower revenue sufficiency payments.
