By Rich Heidorn Jr. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s liberal wing indicated support Wednesday for FERC’s jurisdiction over demand response, but the commission faced harsh questions from conservatives Antonin Scalia and Chief Justice John Roberts and swing vote Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy and Scalia challenged Solicitor General Donald Verrilli’s arguments on...

By Amanda Durish Cook and Tom Kleckner INDIANAPOLIS — MISO and SPP have filed a settlement agreement with FERC allowing MISO to use the SPP transmission system to transfer power freely between its North and South regions. The settlement (ER14-1174, et al.) eliminates the $9.57/MWh hurdle rate established in 2014...

By Tom Kleckner MISO staff said Friday they will recommend three economic projects be included in the 2015 MISO Transmission Expansion Plan. The projects in Southern Indiana, East Texas and Central Arkansas have a projected cost of $281 million, including $85 million that PJM will pay for its share of...

By Tom Kleckner The MISO board’s Markets Committee met at Potomac Economics headquarters in Fairfax, Va., last week to review the Independent Market Monitor’s quarterly metrics report and its monitoring procedures. Monitor David Patton, president of Potomac Economics, also provided a preliminary evaluation of extended locational marginal pricing (ELMP), which...

By Michael Brooks MISO told FERC last week that a group of wind generators alleging special treatment for external generators misunderstands the purpose of the M2 milestone payment in the RTO’s interconnection process (EL15-99). The generators — EDF Renewable Energy, E.ON Climate & Renewables N.A. and Invenergy — complained to...

MISO officials are considering changes to how they conduct the annual Transmission Expansion Plan in order to focus future plans on long-term needs. Officials told the Planning Advisory Committee meeting last week that they are considering changes to the first two steps of the seven-step futures development process. “Year after...

By Chris O’Malley ST. PAUL, Minn. — MISO has a pile of 22 active recommendations made over the years by its Independent Market Monitor, all in various stages of progress. One, which would optimize the interchange and improve price convergence with PJM and SPP, dates back to 2005. “We are...

ST. PAUL, Minn. — FERC Commissioner Tony Clark told the MISO Board of Directors meeting last week that the biggest surprise in the Environmental Protection Agency’s final carbon emission rule was that it put a “bull's-eye” over MISO and SPP, giving their states the toughest compliance targets. Clark said he...

By Chris O’Malley ST. PAUL, Minn. — Registered wind capacity in MISO is projected to rise 50% by the end of 2019 — and that’s not even counting more turbines likely to sprout due to the Clean Power Plan. MISO’s wind capacity has grown to about 14,000 MW, from 1,200...

By Rich Heidorn Jr. ST. PAUL, Minn. — MISO officials last week outlined proposals to boost its capacity resources, winning some support for efforts to streamline the generator interconnection process and redraw its zonal boundaries to reflect constraints. But its proposal to switch from annual to seasonal procurement ran into...