By Amanda Durish Cook
CARMEL, Ind. — The Advisory Committee unanimously adopted a sleeker stakeholder process last week, shedding a structure that MISO stakeholders have called cumbersome and hard to follow.
The redesign merges overlapping stakeholder groups and closes out completed task forces while re-evaluating existing meeting schedules. Seven groups were absorbed or consolidated in the redesign.
The model also puts an emphasis on holding joint meetings when two entities are addressing the same issue and reducing repetitive presentations through the use of MISO’s monthly informational forum. The new, pared-down process also calls for entities to cancel meetings when there is nothing pressing on the agenda.
Michelle Bloodworth, executive director of external affairs, said there was a surprising level of consensus among stakeholders. She said that it was “one of the most collaborative” interactions MISO and its stakeholders have had.
“I felt like we were on the same page,” said Bloodworth, who led the redesign effort after joining MISO in March from the American Natural Gas Association.
The undertaking launched in June with a white paper presented to the Steering Committee, including a straw man proposal as a starting point for discussions. The structure was finalized in a Nov. 3 stakeholder workshop. (See MISO Straw Man: Eliminate 10 of 27 Committees.)
‘Not Doing Extra Work if You Don’t Have to’
“I think we’ve got things pointed in a better direction, from my perspective,” said Kevin Murray, chair of the Advisory Committee.
Libby Jacobs, president of the Organization of MISO States, said it was an example of “an excellent partnership among stakeholders and MISO.”
“As the environment has matured, it was a needed measure. It’s the first step of a program of continuous improvement,” Jacobs said.
Kent Feliks, Advisory Committee representative for the Power Marketer sector, said the redesign contained “pretty logical expectations of not doing extra work if you don’t have to.”
Three-Month Transition
The redesign is expected to be implemented over the next three months. The Steering Committee will handle the day-to-day transition and make reports to the Advisory Committee, which will oversee the implementation’s general progress.
The Advisory Committee has committed to having quarterly face-to-face meetings, as opposed to the near-monthly schedule it had been operating under. Other parent entities will assess and then settle on a meeting frequency.
A day after last Wednesday’s Advisory Committee meeting, the Steering Committee voted to give parent committees authority to evaluate their subordinate groups under redesigned guidelines.
“From our perspective, this is a great step to making sure stakeholders are well positioned to address the big challenges our region faces,” Bloodworth said. “As you look at the Clean Power Plan and resource adequacy, it’s important that we’re able to have high-level policy discussions to map out what the challenges are and what MISO needs to do to address those challenges.”
The Right People in the Room
Bloodworth said the redesign is intended to separate policy discussions from technical engineering reviews.
“It’s making sure the right people are in the room at the right time,” she said.
The redesign requires the leaders of top committees to undergo training on meeting rules of order, what issues require voting action and how to conduct a vote.
“It makes a big difference in the efficiency of the meeting,” Bloodworth said.
At its meeting, the Advisory Committee also unanimously approved a pair of motions related to the redesign. As a result, the Seams Management Work Group will be kept a free-standing work group under the Market Subcommittee and the Regional Expansion Criteria and Benefits Task Force will continue to report to the Advisory Committee rather than to the Planning Advisory Committee.
“We can’t solve every issue. What we hope is by setting priorities, we’re going to focus on the most important things, which is good for MISO and good for its stakeholders,” Bloodworth said.
