The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the grid operator for a wide swath of the central United States, is asking federal regulators for the ability to fast-track certain generation projects to head off what the grid operator says is a looming reliability threat.
Carmel, Indiana-based MISO, which operates the grid across 15 states stretching from New Orleans to eastern Montana, on Monday requested approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish the express lane for generation projects. MISO is seeking approval by mid-May.
The grid operator says the Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS) process is necessary to avoid grid challenges wrought by the retirement of aging power plants, the transition to renewable energy, and growth in expected demand from factories and power-hungry data centers.
“Given the dramatic changes the electric industry is undergoing and the increasing demand for electricity expected in the MISO footprint, there is great urgency to establish a process that enables ‘shovel ready’ projects,” MISO said in the filing.
