CARMEL, Ind. — Though it’s largely compliant with the directives of FERC’s Order 1920 on regional transmission planning, MISO intends to seek a yearlong extension of the June 2025 compliance deadline. 

MISO said it expects to file an extension request with FERC at the end of this month to give it more time to describe how it meets all planning directives.  

At an Oct. 16 Planning Advisory Committee, Director of Expansion Planning Jeanna Furnish said that though MISO believes it’s “directionally compliant” with Order 1920 through its work on long-range transmission planning (LRTP), “much work and assessment is still needed to show compliance.”  

Some stakeholders said it seemed strange MISO would need a year to demonstrate to FERC that it’s already planning projects in general accordance with the order.  

The Union of Concerned Scientists’ Sam Gomberg said that “at first blush,” a yearlong extension seems excessive. A former FERC commissioner has said MISO is ahead of the pack on transmission planning initiatives and acknowledged the commission modeled the order largely on planning taking place within the footprint. (See MARC 2024 Displays Mixed Feelings on Transition Feasibility.)  

Stakeholders asked if MISO planners were getting a jump on drafting a compliance plan should FERC reject a delay.  

“We are trying to get the extension request in as soon as possible so we can manage that timeline,” MISO’s Jeremiah Doner said.  

Meanwhile, MISO has put out a call for transmission study ideas from stakeholders for its 2025 Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP 25). MISO, as it has with other recent MTEPs, warned it will be limited in what new studies it can accommodate because much of its planning bandwidth is dedicated to LRTP.