By Amanda Durish Cook
Following a close vote Wednesday, MISO’s Advisory Committee will recommend the RTO create a new sector for hard-to-define members.
The 12-9 vote means the Advisory Committee will advise the Board of Directors that a new Affiliate Members sector is needed so environmental groups in the current Environmental and Other Stakeholder Groups sector can have a singular voice.
The AC will suggest that the new sector not be allowed a vote in either it or the Planning Advisory Committee but have one designated seat for AC meetings and be allowed to offer opinions during the committee’s quarterly hot topic discussions.
The Affiliate Members sector would serve as a home for any MISO member that isn’t participating in another sector. Prospective MISO members must declare a sector affiliation before they can join the RTO.
The AC began debating the merits of an 11th stakeholder sector last year when Lignite Energy Council (LEC), a North Dakota coal lobbying group, approached MISO about membership. Not fitting neatly into any of MISO’s existing 10 sectors, it looked like it would be relegated to the “other” in the Environmental/Other sector. Some AC members said it wasn’t fitting that a sector would contain entities with diametrically opposed views. (See Feb. Vote Planned on 11th MISO Sector.)
MISO’s Power Marketers, Transmission-Dependent Utilities, Transmission Developers and — surprisingly — the Environmental/Other sector opposed the move. Instead, they supported an option that would maintain the Environmental sector’s “other” contingent and prescribe a six-month trial including LEC as a new member. The End-Use Customers sector abstained.
Speaking during the AC’s conference call Wednesday, MISO Deputy General Counsel Timothy Caister said he anticipates the board will now want to hold discussions with the committee over its reasoning behind the decision and its vision for the new sector.
“We stand ready to help support any questions the board or the Advisory Committee might have,” Caister said of MISO’s role.
If approved, the move will require MISO to file changes to its Transmission Owners’ Agreement with FERC.
So far, the proposed Affiliate Members sector seems destined for a fossil-fuel focus.
North Dakota Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said LEC has penned a nonpublic letter to MISO indicating its support to join the proposed sector. Fedorchak also said the group indicated that it has drummed up interest among other entities interested in joining, including coal and iron mining organizations, coal trade organization America’s Power (formerly known as the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity) and various chambers of commerce. As a rule, MISO does not confirm what entities approach it about membership, only revealing new members when its board votes on admitting them.
“We look forward to working with the Lignite Energy Council and others as they join MISO,” AC Chair Audrey Penner said.
America’s Power CEO Michelle Bloodworth said an 11th sector would ensure that “everybody with interest and requisite ability has a seat on the table.”
Bloodworth also asked that the AC revisit the no-vote stipulation in the future as the sector gains more members.
“As the energy industry continues to evolve, key players like the Lignite Energy Council, America’s Power and others who are involved in coal-generated electricity need to remain engaged in MISO’s market discussions,” Bloodworth said in a statement urging the board to support the new sector.
Meanwhile, the AC is planning on holding another panel-style discussion featuring industry experts in lieu of its usual hot topic discussion during next month’s MISO Board Week in New Orleans. The panel will focus on how RTOs deal with resource transition and likely feature one executive apiece from NYISO, CAISO and ERCOT.
