Regulators from Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana competed to heap scorn on Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s bid to boost coal and nuclear plants.

Competitive transmission, hurricane forecasts and maximum generation alerts were among the topics at the GCPA MISO South regional conference.

MISO maintained reliable operations in its South region during a record January cold snap that saw the area’s peak loads approach summertime highs.

Louisiana regulators are questioning why MISO issued instructions for conservative operations in its South region during an extreme cold snap.

MISO is recommending a new version of a transmission project intended to alleviate constraints in the West of the Atchafalaya Basin (WOTAB) area.

MISO staff and the Independent Market Monitor agreed that the surge in MISO South outages are troubling and should be addressed.

MISO is considering establishing a possible commercial trading hub in Mississippi and will conduct stress tests into the fall to help support its decision.

MISO transmission planners outlined three possible congestion-busting projects in Louisiana and a “skeleton” of potential projects from an overlay study.

Former Duke Energy executive Kent Fonvielle will lead the MISO South external affairs division.

The MISO Board of Directors met and reviewed their quiet winter, aside fromFebruary tornadoes in LA and high congestion charges from a MISO-PJM constraint.