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The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc., formerly named Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc. (MISO) is an
Independent System Operator A regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States is an electric power transmission system operator (TSO) that coordinates, controls, and monitors a multi-state electric grid. The transfer of electricity between states is considered ...
(ISO) and Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) providing open-access transmission service and monitoring the high-voltage
transmission system :''See Transmission (mechanics) for a car's transmission system'' In telecommunications, a transmission system is a system that transmits a signal from one place to another. The signal can be an electrical, optical or radio signal. Some transmissi ...
in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Manitoba, Canada , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...
and a southern United States region which includes much of Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. MISO also operates one of the world's largest real-time
energy markets Energy markets are national and international regulated markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy. Typically energy developme ...
.


Definition of ISOs and RTOs

Both ISOs and RTOs are organizations formed with the approval of the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in ...
(FERC) to coordinate, control and monitor the use of the electric transmission system by
utilities A public utility company (usually just utility) is an organization that maintains the infrastructure for a public service (often also providing a service using that infrastructure). Public utilities are subject to forms of public control and ...
, generators and
marketers Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to empha ...
. An ISO is a
non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
that combines the transmission facilities of several transmission owners into a single transmission system to move energy over long distances at a single lower price than the combined charges of each utility that may be located between the buyer and seller. The ISO provides non-discriminatory service and must be independent of the transmission owners and the customers who use its system. RTOs also provide non-discriminatory access to the transmission network; however, they are required to meet specific FERC regulations that deal with transmission planning and expansion for an entire region, the use of energy markets to deal with system congestion, of power users and owners. RTOs offer regional wholesale electric transmission services under one tariff. FERC first required transmission owners to provide non-discriminatory access to their lines in Order Nos. 888 and 889, building on the model it had used to require interstate
natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbon d ...
pipelines to provide access to pipeline capacity. In those orders, FERC noted that ISOs could provide the additional assurance of independence from the owners and eliminate multiple ("pancaked") rates to transmit electricity over long distances. Shortly after that, FERC Order No. 2000 encouraged the formation of RTO's to regionally manage portions of North America's
electricity grid An electrical grid is an interconnected network for electricity delivery from producers to consumers. Electrical grids vary in size and can cover whole countries or continents. It consists of:Kaplan, S. M. (2009). Smart Grid. Electrical Power ...
. There are nine ISOs, five of which are RTOs, operating in
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
. They manage the systems that serve two-thirds of the customers in the U.S. and over half the population of Canada. Over time, the distinction between ISOs and RTOs in the United States has become insignificant. Both organizations provide similar transmission services under a single tariff at a single rate, and they operate energy markets within their footprints.


Incorporation under FERC

MISO was established in 1998 as an ISO and was approved as the nation's first RTO by FERC in 2001. The organization is headquartered in
Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a suburban city in Indiana immediately north of Indianapolis. With a population of 100,777, the city spans across Clay Township in Hamilton County, Indiana, and is bordered by the White River to the east; the Hamilton-Boone county l ...
with operation control centers in Carmel and
Eagan, Minnesota Eagan ( ) is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota. It is south of Saint Paul and lies on the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from the confluence with the Mississippi River. Eagan and the other nearby suburbs form the southern sect ...
and
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
.


Footprint/membership

MISO is an independent and member-based non-profit organization. Its members include 51 transmission owners with more than 65,800 miles of transmission lines. Members include investor-owned utilities, public power utilities, and cooperatives, such as:
Entergy Entergy Corporation is a Fortune 500 integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations in the Deep South of the United States. Entergy is headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, and gene ...
,
AES Indiana AES Indiana, formerly known as Indianapolis Power & Light Company (also known as IPL or IPALCO), is an American utility company providing electric service to the city of Indianapolis. It is a subsidiary and largest utility of AES Corporation, whi ...
,
International Transmission Company ITC Transmission was founded in 1999 as International Transmission Co., a subsidiary of Detroit Edison (since renamed DTE Energy Electric Company, itself a subsidiary of DTE Energy), charged in the ownership, operation and maintenance of Detroit ...
, Great River Energy,
Xcel Energy Xcel Energy Inc. is an American utility holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, serving more than 3.7 million electric customers and 2.1 million natural gas customers in Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico in 2019. It consists of four oper ...
, and City Water Light and Power.


History

MISO began its operation on "Day 1", a development phase between 1998 and 2005. Throughout this period, the company initiated and built up transmission services to increase grid reliability. MISO was established as an ISO in 1998 after voluntary discussions led to its formation. One year later, the first board of directors was elected. By the end of 2000, the organization had more than 70 employees. In 2001, FERC approved MISO as the nation's first RTO. In 2005, MISO announced the opening of the MISO Energy Markets. The new services ushered in MISO's "Day 2" development phase, providing a wholesale
electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had u ...
that settles $2billion in transactions each month. During this period, MISO grew its employee base to more than 600 staff, and moved the corporate headquarters and operations center under one roof in Carmel, Indiana. In addition to Day-Ahead and Real-Time markets, MISO operates an ancillary services market that began on January 6, 2009. This market provides energy and operating reserves and regulation and response services supporting reliable transmission services. The name was changed in April 2013.


Workforce

MISO is governed by an independent ten-member
Board of Directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...
, consisting of nine independent directors elected by the membership, and the
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
of MISO. No board member may have been a director, officer, or employee of a member, user, or affiliate of a member or user for two years before or after the election to the Board. Under MISO's Standards of Conduct, all MISO board members, employees, and their immediate family members must divest themselves of any financial holdings in member or user companies. In 2018, MISO employed a staff of 1,096 employees between its three operation control centers and its transmission planning office in
Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...
.


Technology

MISO uses a computer model called a State Estimator that analyzes real-time conditions of the MISO power grid. The system has been in operation since December 31, 2003. It serves as the primary management tool for the reliability of transmission facilities throughout the organization's footprint. The State Estimator is one of the world's largest computer systems and provides 303,800 data points that are updated every 5 seconds.


Operations

As the primary RTO in the Midwest and South United States, MISO carries out operational responsibilities to maintain energy flow.


Grid management and reliability

Data is evaluated by Reliability Coordinators and Reliability Analysts, monitoring the grid 24/7. Projecting power movement in real-time, MISO's control room staff monitors and manages activity on the electric transmission system.


Infrastructure planning and energy alternatives

MISO performs regional planning in accordance with FERC principles. MISO infrastructure planning has four primary objectives: * provide an efficient and reliable transmission system * access a diverse number of energy resources, including renewable energies * expand energy trading opportunities * meet state and federal energy policy objectives


MISO Markets

This open market began on April 1, 2005, and provides financially binding day-ahead and real-time energy pricing. MISO Markets include a Financial Transmission Rights Market, a Day-Ahead Market, a Real-Time Market, and a market for operating reserves and regulation. They are operated and settled separately, providing a clear look at day-to-day price changes.


Planning efforts


MISO Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP)

MTEP is a long-term annual planning study that identifies and supports the development of transmission infrastructure that is sufficiently robust to meet local and regional reliability standards and enables competition among wholesale energy suppliers. The MISO Board of Directors reviews the MTEP annually during its December meeting. MTEP includes recommendations for transmission infrastructure additions and electric grid improvements throughout the MISO footprint. Since its inception in 2003, MTEP plans have recommended almost $6.9 billion in transmission projects, totaling $2.2 billion already in operation. Page text.


MISO – PJM Interconnection Joint and Common Market (JCM)

In cooperation with
PJM Interconnection PJM Interconnection LLC (PJM) is a regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States. It is part of the Eastern Interconnection grid operating an electric transmission system serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kent ...
(PJM), the two organizations developed a Joint and Common Market (JCM) to align market rules between them and to reduce the operating impact of the many transmission interconnections between the two RTOs. In December 2003, the two RTOs filed a Joint Operating Agreement with FERC, detailing how the organizations will share information and phase in their respective operations.


References


External links

* {{Regional transmission organization (north america) Electric power transmission system operators in the United States Companies based in Indiana Electric power transmission system operators in Canada Carmel, Indiana