MISO expands reliability coordination services

MISO Reliability Coordination streamlines grid operations, balancing authority services, and transmission reliability from Manitoba to the Gulf, supporting Entergy, Cleco, SME, and municipal utilities while reducing curtailments and preparing for 2013 market integration.

CARMEL, Indiana – Recently, MISO, the regional transmission organization responsible for the safe, reliable transfer of energy along bulk electric lines, expanded its reliability coordination services to include eight additional entities in three of its four Southern states.

Combined with operations for MISO’s Midwest region, MISO now manages the flow of energy along 65,280 miles of the interconnected bulk electric system from Manitoba, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to providing reliability services for the Entergy companies and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation AECC, which began Dec. 1, 2012, eight other entities or municipalities are now benefitting from MISO’s regional reliability coordination services, alongside Mississippi Power reliability improvements in the state. Those companies include Cleco, South Mississippi Electric Power Association SME Louisiana Energy and Power Authority LEPA Louisiana Generating, LLC LAGN and four municipal utilities in the region. With the six Entergy operating companies, these companies together serve more than four million customers.

“Reliability is our number one priority, and we are pleased to provide this essential service to our Southern region companies,” said Todd Ramey, Vice President of System Operations and Market Services. “This first step in transitioning to a single balancing authority provides these companies and the customers they serve with the assurance that a consolidated, regional approach to managing power flows is safe, reliable and cost-effective.”

Additionally, the six Entergy operating companies, Cleco and SME are working toward full integration into MISO’s market operations by December 2013. As those integration activities continue, MISO posts the progress toward each major milestone on three dashboards, updated monthly. These materials highlight the readiness of Southern region participants, key milestones and activities at MISO, and broader smart grid capabilities trends within the industry.

“MISO’s been active in providing training and detail on the market transition,” said Jennifer Vosburg, President of Louisiana Generating and senior vice president of NRG. “While there is a significant amount of work left to be done, and recognizing Louisiana power grid challenges, we believe that MISO is providing the tools and training for a successful transition in December of [2013].”

“With full integration just six months away, we’re doing everything to make the transition as smooth as possible with no surprises,” Ramey added. Since MISO began reliability coordination services for Entergy last December, the region has seen an overall reduction in curtailment actions, and enhanced outage management services across utilities, Ramey said, indicating more efficient use of the bulk electric system.

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