PJM to Tighten Pseudo-Tie Rules Despite Stakeholder Pushback

By Rory D. Sweeney

WILMINGTON, Del. — PJM and its stakeholders last week found themselves at odds for the second month in a row over requirements for external generators, as members insisted on more time to consider the RTO’s pro forma pseudo-tie agreement.

The stakeholders’ decision to delay a vote came at Thursday’s Markets and Reliability Committee meeting. Later, in the Members Committee meeting, the RTO announced that the Board of Managers will unilaterally file a contentious pseudo-tie rule that members rejected at the January MRC meeting.

Stakeholders had voted to apply stricter requirements to new pseudo-ties but declined to apply them to existing pseudo-tied units, as PJM requested. The lack of endorsement meant that PJM can’t file its proposal under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act and will file instead under Section 205. (See “PJM Uncomfortable with Separate Pseudo-Tie Rules,” PJM Markets and Reliability and Members Committees Briefs.)

“PJM management’s fairly strong recommendation to the board was to file both [new and existing] as 205,” said Senior Vice President of Operations and Markets Stu Bresler. “I can tell you that the board is sensitive to adhering to the stakeholder process,” Bresler said. He said PJM plans to file with FERC by March 10.

PJM Public Power Coalition’s Carl Johnson commended the RTO on its openness throughout the process but said the proposal created an unreasonable lack of certainty on whether units will be approved.

American Municipal Power’s Ed Tatum said the proposal could have been revised enough to find common ground between PJM’s desire for stricter standards and stakeholders’ concerns.

“It is a bit unfortunate,” he said. “We could have prevented what will likely be many protests. I feel like we could have gotten this right.”

Members Balk at Pro Forma Agreement

Earlier in the meeting, stakeholders stood fast, insisting on additional time to improve the language of the pro forma pseudo-tie agreement despite concerns that further delay could create confusion during an emergency. Members said that FERC’s lack of a quorum meant there was no pressing need to rush the agreement for a commission filing.

“It’s not just delay for delay’s sake,” Johnson said. The existing document is better than previous versions, he said, but additional improvements could be made.

The pro forma agreement is intended to ensure uniformity in the rules for future pseudo-tie generators. But PJM said it has had trouble obtaining agreement with other balancing authorities on pseudo-tie terms, and variations in wording have created confusion about correct operating procedures. PJM staff said they have discussed it with neighboring transmission operators, including Duke Energy, SPP, MISO and East Kentucky Power Cooperative.

The agreement will address congestion management with entities where PJM doesn’t already have such an agreement, ensure impacts of the pseudo-tied unit are recognized in market flows, require firm status for transfers and require use of NERC’s interchange distribution calculator redispatch mechanism.

“What I’m finding is that even in discussions with other [balancing authorities] … not one of them has a problem with the agreement per se. They just have a concern with pseudo-ties. MISO feels the agreement is redundant. … The vast majority of what’s in there is not redundant,” PJM Associate General Counsel Jacqui Hugee said.

Bruce Bleiweis of DC Energy said he recently attended a NYISO meeting where stakeholders didn’t know what a pseudo-tie was, so it’s unlikely that the education process would be expedient there.

PJM: Let FERC Sort it Out

Several stakeholders asked that any disputes be resolved before submitting the agreement to FERC, but PJM General Counsel Vince Duane urged the opposite.

“After trying as best we can to get substantive input from our neighbors, [the idea is to] file with the commission, and that will allow everyone to come in and file their opinions,” he said. “We need to get a forum in place, and I’m not confident the stakeholder processes outside of PJM are going to provide that forum any time soon.”

While the new process might take longer than before to secure necessary approvals, PJM expects it will give applicants more certainty about expectations for pseudo-ties. The agreement would also expand the RTO’s existing reimbursement agreement, which would be codified in the Tariff. If the parties can’t come to terms on the agreement, PJM would file the unexecuted agreement for FERC review.

February 28, 2017

GAO Gives Good Marks to Federal Efforts to Safeguard Grid

By Wayne Barber

The U.S. Government Accountability Office said last week it is satisfied that federal agencies are collaborating with each other on grid resilience and not duplicating efforts.

A GAO report released Friday, “Electricity: Federal Efforts to Enhance Grid Resilience,” notes that the federal government has launched more than two dozen efforts and spent nearly a quarter billion dollars between 2013 and 2015 to improve the grid’s ability to withstand everything from hurricanes and geomagnetic disturbances to physical and cyberattacks.

The Department of Energy, the Department of Homeland Security and FERC reported implementing 27 grid resiliency efforts since 2013.

The efforts addressed three federal priorities: developing and deploying tools to enhance awareness of potential disruptions; planning and exercising coordinated responses to disruptive events; and ensuring actionable intelligence on threats is quickly communicated between government and industry.

GAO concluded that the grid reliance efforts are not being pursued in silos and are stressing collaboration between federal agencies as well as states and private industry stakeholders. In researching the report, GAO not only surveyed federal officials, but also representatives of the Edison Electric Institute, American Public Power Association and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, whose members own most of the grid.

“We have previously reported that fragmentation has the potential to result in duplication of resources,” GAO said. “For example, fragmentation can lead to technical or administrative functions being managed separately by individual agencies, when these functions could be shared among programs. However, we also have reported that fragmentation, by itself, is not an indication that unnecessary duplication of efforts or activities exists.”

GAO auditors did not find any instances of duplication among the 27 federal grid resiliency efforts. “None of the efforts had the same goals or engaged in the same activities,” GAO said.

Of the 27 efforts, 12 were related to FERC’s role in reviewing and approving mandatory NERC reliability standards. Cyberattacks were considered in 15 of the 27 programs, while physical attacks and natural disasters were addressed in 12. Operational accidents were analyzed in only five of the programs, GAO found. Federal funding for DOE and DHS grid resiliency activities from fiscal year 2013 through fiscal year 2015 totaled approximately $240 million.

Efforts Have Sparked Progress

Federal grid efforts have sped the development of new technologies and improved coordination and information sharing between the federal government and industry related to potential cyberattacks, GAO said. It cited Homeland Security’s Resilient Electric Grid program, which developed a new superconductor cable that can connect several urban substations, mitigating disruptions by enabling multiple paths for electricity to flow if a single substation loses power.

Three DOE and DHS efforts addressed resiliency issues related to large, high-power transformers, but the goals were distinct. One effort focused on developing a rapidly deployable transformer to use in the event of multiple large, high-power transformer failures; another focused on developing next-generation transformer components with more resilient features; and a third focused on developing a plan for a national transformer reserve.

Homeland Security and Energy officials identified the Electricity Subsector Coordinating Council, an industry group, and the Energy Sector Government Coordinating Council as key mechanisms that help coordinate grid resiliency efforts. (See States Want Cyber Best Practices; Santorum Seeks ‘Warriors’.)

The GAO study was dated Jan. 25 and was initially presented to Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), the ranking member on the Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology.

February 28, 2017

ISO-NE Market Falls in 2016; LMPs, Gas Prices Lowest on Record

ISO-NE’s wholesale electric market totaled $4.1 billion in 2016, down 30% from 2015, thanks to low natural gas prices and mild weather that cut demand and eliminated pipeline congestion and resulting price spikes.

LMPs averaged $28.94/MWh last year, down from $41/MWh, while natural gas — which produced 49% of the region’s electricity — averaged $3.09/MMBtu, down from $4.64/MMBtu. The Energy Information Administration reported last month that gas prices last year were the lowest since 1999.

ISO-NE said preliminary figures showed demand for electricity fell 2.1% last year to 124,323 GWh. “An unconstrained transmission system allows the least expensive power plants to be used to meet demand across the region,” the RTO noted in a press release. “Congestion has been virtually eliminated in New England with $8 billion in transmission upgrades since 2002.”

“When New England’s natural gas power plants can access low-cost fuel, wholesale power prices tend to remain low,” CEO Gordon van Welie said in a statement. “By comparison, extremely cold temperatures three winters ago resulted in pipeline constraints and caused natural gas — and wholesale electricity — prices to hit record highs.”

– Rich Heidorn Jr.

February 28, 2017

ERCOT TAC Endorses Change to Unregistered DG Reporting Requirements

The ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee on Friday unanimously endorsed a revision to the Commercial Operations Market Guide (COPMGRR044) that aligns with a previously approved protocol change.

ERCOT Tac distributed generation commercial operations — Solar Roof | *Meridian Solar*

Nodal Protocol Revision Request 794 was approved by the Board of Directors on Feb. 14 and by the TAC in January. It moves reporting requirements for unregistered distributed generation from the Commercial Operations Market Guide to the protocols.

The vote was conducted by email after the February TAC meeting was canceled.

— Tom Kleckner

February 28, 2017

PSEG Becoming Energy Marketer in ‘Defensive Move’

By Rory D. Sweeney

Public Service Enterprise Group has received approval to operate as a third-party supplier of retail electric energy in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, company officials said during its report on earnings for the fourth quarter and full year of 2016.

“The forecast for 2017 doesn’t assume meaningful contribution from retail sales, but Power’s team will begin its marketing efforts,” CFO Dan Cregg said.

“This is primarily a defensive move on our part,” said CEO Ralph Izzo. “We’ve opted to pursue this organically, building the capability in-house. We still are targeting between 5 and 10 TWh at its maturity. … We have a head of the operation onboard that we’ve hired and a couple support folks and are talking to people about some of the back-office fundamentals that we don’t want to build on our own.”

The business would be in addition to its requirement to provide power to default customers within its footprint that don’t shop around — about 11 of the company’s 50 annual terawatt-hours of production, Izzo said.

“What we’re looking to do here is to basically claw back some of the [customers who purchased elsewhere] that over years had gone away either by some combination of migration or changing of thresholds for the [basic-service] customer. We think that it will help us capture some lost margin and improve our management of basis differentials,” Izzo said.

PSEG reported income of $887 million ($1.75/share) for 2016 compared to $1.68 billion ($3.30/share) for 2015. For the fourth quarter, the company reported a loss of $98 million (-$0.19/share) compared to income of $309 million ($0.60/share). Expenses associated with the early retirement of coal-gas units at the Hudson and Mercer generating stations and reserves for a leveraged lease impairment accounted for the difference in year-end results, company officials said. The fourth-quarter loss reflects the impact of depreciation and other expenses associated with the plant retirements.

PSEG earnings new jersey — NJ Gov. Chris Christie and PSE&G President and COO Ralph LaRossa in Hackensack on October 28, 2016 discussing improvements made to PSE&G equipment since Superstorm Sandy. | *PSEG*

Operating earnings for the year were $1.48 billion ($2.90/share), virtually unchanged from the $2.91/share earned in 2015. Operating earnings were $279 million ($0.54/share) for the quarter compared to $255 million ($0.50/share) for the same period last year.

Company officials and analysts largely shrugged off the quarterly losses, noting annual operating results came solidly within its guidance of $2.80 to $2.95/share.

“The board’s recent decision to increase the common dividend by 4.9% to the indicative annual level of $1.72/share represents confidence in our firm’s investment strategy and an acknowledgment of our strong financial condition,” Izzo said.

February 28, 2017

FERC Accepts MISO Bylaw Changes

FERC has accepted MISO’s plan to pare down pre- and post-service restrictions on its directors as part of a package of transmission owner agreement bylaw changes.

The short Feb. 23 order (ER17-686) approved all MISO’s requested bylaw changes effective Feb. 27. RTO staff said the bylaw change was needed to attract more board member recruits.

miso bylaw changes ferc — MISO’s Board of Directors | © *RTO Insider*

Most prominently, FERC’s delegated order cuts the pre-service restriction to one year and eliminates a post-service restriction. MISO’s directors had been subject to a two-year pre- and post-service prohibition on affiliations with RTO members, affiliates and market participants. (See Board OKs Pay Hike, Change to Independence Rules.)

The edits also added the gender-neutral “board chair” in lieu of “chairman” and specified that adjustments to board compensation must be made by an independent compensation consulting firm. The RTO last year used firm Willis Towers Watson to up board compensation by $4,000 annually.

Other bylaw edits the commission approved allow board elections to take place earlier in the year, remove the requirement that the annual MISO members meeting be held on the second Thursday of December — allowing for more flexible scheduling — and eliminate the specific Jan. 1 due date for the annual $1,000 MISO membership fee. MISO staff said membership fee billing and payment usually takes place sometime after Jan. 1.

Finally, the edits clarify that member voting — even voting to remove a board member — can take place outside of meetings.

— Amanda Durish Cook

February 28, 2017

Lower Energy Prices, Load for MISO in January

CARMEL, Ind. — Mild temperatures and inexpensive natural gas resulted in a slight load decrease and lower energy prices in MISO in January.

Average load was 76.2 GW, a 0.7-GW decrease over December. LMPs averaged under $30/MWh systemwide, a 7.6% decrease from December, with real-time prices of $28.04/MWh and day-ahead prices of $28.69/MWh. The average January gas price was $3.28/MMBtu, a decrease of 8.6% from the prior month.

Operating conditions in the RTO during January were “generally favorable,” punctuated by a few short-lived severe weather conditions, Executive Director of Market Design Jeff Bladen said at a Feb. 21 Informational Forum. MISO reported zero minimum or maximum alerts or warnings.

The RTO also recorded 4,245 GWh of systemwide wind production in the month, a drop from December’s 5,687 GWh, but 3% higher than January 2016’s 4,110 GWh.

— Amanda Durish Cook

February 28, 2017

PJM Markets and Reliability and Members Committees Briefs

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

WILMINGTON, Del. — After months of rule changes, PJM stakeholders decided to largely take a break at last week’s Markets and Reliability Committee meeting. Aside from endorsing some administrative revisions and an uncontroversial exception to competitive bidding for substation equipment, members rejected or deferred votes on all other voting items, often citing FERC’s lack of a quorum for why there is no pressing need to decide.

Decision on Order 825 Implementation Postponed Until March

Stakeholders agreed to delay voting for a month on additional rule changes associated with Order 825, which requires that shortage pricing be triggered for any period of energy or operating reserve. The order required PJM to eliminate its practice of waiting until a shortage is forecast for a sustained period before shortage pricing. (See FERC Issues 1st RTO Price Formation Reforms.)

To continue to avoid “transient shortages,” PJM has proposed a two-part response to the order. The first part, which was filed last month, satisfies FERC’s requirements for initiating shortage pricing. The second part — which PJM plans to submit to FERC as a Federal Power Act Section 205 filing contingent upon approval at the Members Committee meeting in March — would adjust its operating reserve demand curves. (See “Order 825 Implementation Moves Forward,” PJM Market Implementation Committee Briefs.)

“Is this a decision the commission could make absent a quorum?” American Municipal Power’s Ed Tatum asked. PJM staff confirmed that there has been a challenge in the docket, so FERC wouldn’t be able to accept it via delegated approval.

Susan Bruce of the PJM Industrial Customer Coalition asked if a vote could be delayed another month to work out issues. It’s possible, PJM’s Adam Keech responded, but the delay might create exposure for PJM’s markets if FERC requires implementation of five-minute settlements, also mandated by Order 825, by May.

Keech also explained that an increase in the market clearing price will have as much as triple the impact on reserve clearing price credits. PJM’s analysis found that a 5% increase in the clearing price would add about $6.4 million, or 15%, to the credits, while a 10% increase in the price would add about $8.7 million, or 20%.

For the purposes of simplicity, the sensitivity study assumed that lost opportunity cost credits remained static. Generally, however, “as the clearing price credits go up, the opportunity cost credits go down,” Keech said.

Stakeholders Deny Replacement Capacity Initiative; Consider Other Incremental Auction Changes

A problem statement and issue charge to address replacement capacity failed to garner 50% approval after presenter Bob O’Connell of Panda Power Funds navigated around objections to secure a vote. He’ll get another chance on a separate problem statement involving incremental offers next month, when members also will consider the proposed charter language for the Incremental Auction Senior Task Force.

Several members had attempted to postpone voting on the problem statement for a month, but a vote to postpone fell short, receiving 3.33 in a sector-weighted vote that required 3.34 to pass. That allowed O’Connell to call for a vote.

Tom Rutigliano of consulting firm Achieving Equilibrium said a delay would help alleviate problems with the problem statement, such as what he called a mischaracterization of some FERC orders that put stakeholders “on a path to repeat the same conclusions that FERC has already rejected.” But O’Connell was intent on bringing the motion to a vote. Rutigliano then proposed some hastily devised amendments, some of which O’Connell accepted.

Citigroup Energy’s Barry Trayers also proposed amending the language to focus on streamlining the replacement-capacity process and reducing PJM staff discretion. O’Connell considered this a friendly amendment and included the revisions.

“Really this is a vote about whether we want to try to solve the problem on our own or if we want to have the commission solve it for us,” O’Connell said.

The proposal to revise the replacement-capacity rules comes after recent stakeholder debates about the impact of “paper capacity” — when a market participant offers into Base Residual Auctions and buys out of the obligation during subsequent Incremental Auctions to take advantage of price differences. (See “PJM Has No Objection to IMM’s ‘Paper Capacity’ Report,” PJM Market Implementation Committee Briefs.)

Regarding his second problem statement proposal, O’Connell said PJM’s opportunity-cost calculator needs to be recalibrated to account for penalty rates implemented along with the Capacity Performance market construct.

Independent Market Monitor Joe Bowring challenged a work activity to find ways to incorporate nonperformance charge rates into the calculators. O’Connell agreed to add “where appropriate” or “if necessary” as a revision.

The task force charter language was developed in response to a problem statement presented by Direct Energy that was approved in November. It focuses on the Incremental Auction structure and how excess capacity is sold back by PJM.

PJM’s Brian Chmielewski, who is facilitating the task force, said detailed replacement capacity issues will be addressed in a separate problem statement and issue charge.

Transmission Replacement Activity Hiatus Extended

Stakeholders agreed to extend the Transmission Replacement Process Senior Task Force’s hiatus for another 90 days, citing FERC’s continued silence on the issue.

In August, the commission issued an Order to Show Cause questioning whether PJM transmission owners are complying with their local transmission planning obligations, specifically with respect to supplemental projects, as required by Order 890. (See “Transmission Task Force Halts Most Action in Response to FERC Order,” PJM Markets and Reliability and Members Committees Briefs.)

The TOs responded in October, but FERC has not acted on the filing and has no deadline for doing so.

PJM’s Fran Barrett, who is facilitating the task force, said the commission’s loss of its quorum was unexpected and recommended extending the deferral.

Some stakeholders called for using the downtime to resolve the problems. “We can work a thorny issue for FERC so FERC doesn’t have to work it for us,” Tatum said, who added that he has “great concern” with extending the hiatus.

“The time we have been waiting for FERC to act has not been wasted time. We have been working hard,” Exelon’s Gloria Godson said.

O’Connell said the decision should be based on whether there is anything to talk about. “Just go ahead and tell Fran: ‘Fran, we have enough meat for a meeting. Go ahead, and schedule it. If we don’t have enough meat, don’t schedule it,’” he said.

Barrett agreed to return to next month’s meeting with an update.

Stakeholders Endorse Revisions

Stakeholders endorsed by acclamation several manual revisions and other operational changes:

Revisions to Manual 22 to update terms and definitions, developed as part of a periodic review of the manual. The term revisions largely replace “partial outage” so that the manual now refers to forced, maintenance and planned outages as “derated.” For example, “Equivalent Forced Partial Outage Hours” became “Equivalent Forced Derated Hours.”
Revisions to manuals 13 and 27 will add the Mid-Atlantic Interstate Transmission Co. as a transmission owner in PJM. MAIT is a new subsidiary of FirstEnergy that owns and operates the company’s transmission assets in the Met-Ed and Penelec utility territories. (See NJ Opposition Derails FirstEnergy’s Tx Reorganization — but not Projects.)
Revisions to the RTEP and the Operating Agreement to exempt certain transmission substation equipment from Order 1000 competitive bidding. (See “Endorsements Sail Through by acclamation,” PJM Planning Committee and TEAC Briefs.) John Farber of the Delaware Public Service Commission staff took the microphone to thank PJM for its attention to the topic. The measure was also later endorsed by the Members Committee.

Members Committee

Members Approve Uplift Proposals

Following up on swift action taken at last month’s MRC meeting, members endorsed a two-phase implementation of revisions to address uplift. (See “Work on Uplift Moves Forward Despite NOPR,” PJM Markets and Reliability and Members Committees Briefs.)

Two stakeholders complained that the proposals didn’t align with FERC’s order on the issue. “I don’t agree that the package is counter to FERC’s order,” PJM Public Power Coalition’s Carl Johnson replied. “In fact, I think it’s the first step to something they might approve.”

Consent Agenda Endorsed

The committee also endorsed:

Tariff, Operating Agreement and Reliability Assurance Agreement revisions to update definitions.
Revisions to the PJM Tariff regarding operating parameters.

— Rory D. Sweeney

February 28, 2017

Panel Shares Successes, Challenges in Diversity Session

By Amanda Durish Cook

CARMEL, Ind. — Six panelists shared tales of shattering the old boys’ mold and being a minority in a sea of white employees during a discussion convened by MISO last week on increasing diversity in the energy industry. The discussion was part of the RTO’s Informational Forum.

miso energy industry diversity — Glover | © *RTO Insider*

Paula Glover, CEO of the American Association of Blacks in Energy, said she has walked through workplaces where she has spotted just three African Americans among 500 employees.

“The people I engage with on a daily basis do not look like me,” Glover said, noting that while African Americans make up 12% of the workforce, their employment rate in the energy industry is 7%.

“You tell me of diversity all you want, but if I can’t pinpoint it, it’s not there,” she said. “The numbers do not pan out well for this industry.”

Counted Twice

Carolene Mays-Medley, executive director of Indiana’s White River State Park and a former Indiana Utility Regulatory commissioner and state representative, said that early in her career, she remembers being counted twice as a minority because she was both black and female.

“When I got started around 1982, it was an old boys’ club,” said Marlene Parsley, Big Rivers Electric’s director of resources and forecasting. She said starting out young and female, she learned that not “rocking the boat” earned her respect among her colleagues.

“It is important to be the person in the room sometimes, because it does give that diversity of thought,” said Korlon Kilpatrick, director of regulatory affairs for Citizens Energy Group.

MISO Executive Director of System Operations Renuka Chatterjee joined the RTO as a young engineer 17 years ago.

“To understand my personal journey, you have to understand my Ellis Island story,” said Chatterjee, who was born and raised in India and came to the U.S. in 1997. Chatterjee spoke of entering engineering school while her female cousins did not attend college. She said even while earning a doctorate in the U.S., she learned it was common to be one of a handful of female students in science and technology courses.

“I recall one interview [in India], I was viewed as not a good investment because I would get married and have babies,” she said.

Starting a Career at the Bottom

Donald Broadhurst, general manager of Midwest transmission construction and maintenance at Duke Energy, said he began his energy career as a low-level employee. “I started out at the bottom. I was a substation electrician, but I wasn’t satisfied with that,” Broadhurst said. “The most important part is you. You have to do what you want to and not let others set limits.”

Broadhurst said corporate support can improve diversity.

“It does start at the top, and you have to make sure that your organization understands that it is a priority. I think it should. It has to be weaved in the talent lifecycle from recruitment to training to succession,” he said.

Mays-Medley said she has always been frustrated when she hears a company recruiter complaining about a lack of qualified female and minority candidates. “I ask, ‘Where are you looking?’ Maybe you need to diversify your candidate pool. … You can’t say that you don’t know where to go. There are lots of places to look,” she said.

Parsley said Big Rivers will reach out to churches and community centers to cast a wider recruiting net. “A lot of times, hearing ‘not a good fit’ means, ‘They don’t think like me,’” Parsley said.

Creating Inclusion

Glover said work culture is key to creating an inclusive environment. “For companies, it is ‘Who are we?’ when people walk in the door,” she said. Glover expressed optimism for the future, saying that millennials are entering the workforce accustomed to working in diverse environments.

Broadhurst said some people think of diversity as a threat to the majority white male industry and view it as “taking someone’s seat.” He said he always viewed jobs as being earned. “When you’re an African-American leader and you bring on another African American, it’s viewed differently than if your white counterpart [hires a white employee]. But if it’s the right thing to do, you must do it. You don’t just reach back for people that look like you; you look for talent,” he said.

Glover said existing workforces feeling threatened by diversity programs is “a real thing.” She said successful diversity programs include a management discussion addressing the fear and resentment the programs may evoke.

Glover (left) and Kilpatrick | © *RTO Insider*

Mays-Medley said minorities and women have to stop competing “so hard” against one another or “tearing one another down” in the workplace. “I’ve come to realize that we do it because the seats are so limited. And the vision from the top is we can only have one position. That vision from the top has to be broadened.”

MISO CEO John Bear said the RTO engages in “intentional” diversity and has a board that’s more diverse than the RTO average. MISO South Vice President Todd Hillman said the RTO is creating a diversity and inclusion resource group for its employees.

According to MISO, the RTO’s workforce is 70% male/30% female and 74% white/26% non-white. From 2013 to 2016, MISO’s new hires have been 65% male/35% female and 67% white/33% non-white. The U.S. electric power workforce as a whole is 78% male/22% female and 79% white/21% non-white, according to the RTO.

February 27, 2017

MISO Won’t Seek Rehearing on Auction Redesign

By Amanda Durish Cook

MISO will not ask FERC to rehear its previously rejected Competitive Retail Solution, which would have applied a sloped demand curve and three-year forward capacity auction to the RTO’s retail-choice areas.

MISO spokesperson Jay Hermacinski last week confirmed the decision.

The RTO also notified stakeholders by letter, explaining that its stance was influenced by improved planning efforts from Michigan and Illinois and FERC’s current limbo. (See Backlog, Delays Feared as FERC Loses Quorum.)

“Following our filing of the CRS proposal, near-term resource adequacy circumstances have improved with passage of legislation in Michigan and Illinois, as well as other factors such as increased ability to import capacity into those states,” the letter read.

Late last year, Illinois and Michigan — which maintains a 10% retail choice cap — passed legislation to subsidize nuclear plants and provide a blanket energy policy, respectively. (See Michigan Energy Bill Preserves RPS, 10% Retail Choice Cap.)

MISO reiterated its commitment to work with Illinois regulators, lawmakers and utilities to address potential future capacity shortages. The issue will also be taken up with stakeholders at the March 8 Resource Adequacy Subcommittee meeting.

The RTO said its “immediate next steps” will focus on coordinating its resource adequacy process with Illinois in particular.

“While Illinois has addressed some short-term concerns around potentially retiring capacity, critical additional tools are still needed to ensure improved long-term price signals for committed capacity to reliably serve consumers in the state,” MISO said. “Given this, we have concluded the most productive near-term effort is working closely with state officials and Illinois stakeholders who continue the work of developing a state-based approach to fully address long-term resource adequacy requirements.”

FERC’s current uncertainty also figured into the RTO’s reasoning. It is unclear when new commissioners will be appointed and a quorum restored to address a rehearing, MISO said.

The RTO will continue to work on “solutions focused on competitive retail areas that do not implicate the traditionally regulated areas of the MISO region” and maintain separation between rules for vertically integrated utilities and competitive retail suppliers.

MISO FERC auction redesign rehearing — John Bear addressing GCPA MISO South Conference Attendees on February 16, 2017 | © *RTO Insider*

“The FERC order does not change that commitment,” MISO said.

At a Feb. 21 Informational Forum, MISO CEO John Bear attempted to calm what he called “some trepidation among stakeholders, saying the RTO will not apply a forward market or sloped demand curve systemwide.

“We’re going to stand by that,” Bear said.

However, given the “brevity” of FERC’s order (ER17-284), MISO is interested in getting more detail from the commission, Bear said. It is still unclear whether or not MISO will receive detailed commission guidance. (See FERC Rejects MISO’s 3-Year Forward Auction Proposal.)