DETROIT — MISO’s Board of Directors has asked the RTO’s Independent Market Monitor to better explain its $10.6 million 2026 budget before it agrees to the amount.

During Board Week, members of the board’s Markets Committee said they wanted greater detail on a $5.9 million budget item the Monitor proposed for “base monitoring and data management tasks.”

Monitor David Patton said “base monitoring” includes screening MISO market activity, data management, reviewing market outcomes and operations, producing reports, and coordination with the RTO. However, he did not allocate specific costs for each of the responsibilities.

Patton said the tasks take up a large share of the monitoring budget because that is his primary responsibility.

Director Robert Lurie said he would not accept a similar level of vagueness in MISO’s proposed budgets. Director Theresa Wise similarly asked for more “visibility” into the budget.

Director H.B. “Trip” Doggett encouraged Patton to “polish it up” and bring the budget back to a nonpublic meeting with the board in October. The board and the Monitor then could present the final product during the next Board Week in December.

Wisconsin Public Service Commissioner Marcus Hawkins said he had “concerns with the timing of the additional scrutiny” into the Monitor’s budget. He said that while he supported efforts into transparency, this year’s heightened examination appeared suspicious because of the recent controversy surrounding the Monitor assessing MISO’s transmission planning. (See FERC Sides with Market Monitor over MISO in Compensation Dispute and MISO IMM Contends he Should Have Role in Tx Planning Oversight.)

Hawkins said the IMM’s budget increase in 2026 appears lower than the national rate of inflation. He asked board members to share the results of their nonpublic meeting in October at the next Board Week in early December.

Over 2024, the Monitor operated with a nearly $10.2 million budget.