MISO held an informational meeting last week on its second request for proposals coming out of its $10 billion long-range transmission portfolio (LRTP).
The newest project up for bids is a 345-kV project crossing the Iowa-Missouri state border. Proposals are due by May 19 with a developer to be selected by Oct. 31, staff told stakeholders during a Thursday teleconference.
The $161 million Fairport-Denny project involves construction of a 345-kV substation in Iowa and two 345-kV transmission lines to Fairport, Mo. In MISO, prequalified transmission developers may submit multiple proposals in response to a RFP, though each submittal requires a $100,000 deposit. That’s on top of the $20,000 application fee they must pay to become a qualified transmission developer able to bid on competitive projects. MISO expects the project to be in service in June 2030.
The RTO’s Board of Directors approved the 18-project LRTP package of 345-kV lines in July. Only about 10% of the portfolio will be competitively bid because of existing right-of-first-refusal laws and upgrade work. (See MISO Board Approves $10B in Long-range Tx Projects.)
The Fairport-Denny RFP is the fourth MISO has issued and is the first it will manage and evaluate simultaneously with other open RFPs.
The grid operator in September released an RFP for a $254 million 345-kV project on the Indiana-Michigan state border. It expects to announce a developer for that work on May 11.
MISO will release its third RFP on March 6 for a $556 million 345-kV project that will link up with the Fairport-Denny project. Developers have until February to become certified to bid on the line.
Brian Pedersen, senior manager of competitive transmission services, said two other RFPs will be released in July. MISO plans to open bidding periods for a $12 million, 345-kV project in Wisconsin on July 11 and a $23 million, 345-kV segment from the Iowa-Illinois border to an Illinois substation on July 24.
For transparency’s sake, MISO has instructed stakeholders to send all questions regarding the competitive process to TDQS@misoenergy.org instead of individual personnel. The RTO also prohibits stakeholders from directing questions about competitive projects to interconnecting incumbent transmission owners while an RFP is active.
