MISO’s Regional Long Range Transmission Planning: A Proactive and Holistic Planning Approach

The energy ecosystem is evolving, resulting in a paradigm shift in the Market, Planning and Operations of the electric power grid. Retirement of conventional generation, increased penetration of renewable resources, and growing electrification will continue with policy support for decarbonization of the grid. The power industry is reacting and adapting to the evolving resource mix. As part of its response to these drivers, Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is leading major efforts, redefining its Planning, Operations and Market Systems. Long Range Transmission Planning (LRTP), one of the workstreams under MISO’s Reliability Imperative, recognizes the need for proactive and holistic planning and assesses reliability risks 10-20 years into the future. The intensity, frequency and severity of extreme weather events further highlight need for Long Range Transmission planning, to facilitate regional delivery of energy to serve generation deficient areas. LRTP is informed by the Renewable Integration Impact Assessment (RIIA) and MISO’s Futures (forward-looking planning scenarios). RIIA, a technically rigorous and systematic analysis, evaluated increasing levels of wind and solar resources penetration on the MISO footprint. The “Futures” address uncertainty over a long-term horizon. The first tranche of the LRTP effort identified a ${\$}$10.3 billion portfolio comprised of eighteen projects with over 2,000 miles of new transmission lines for the MISO Midwest subregion. The business case for LRTP identified a Benefit-to-Cost ratio of 2.6 overall.