wiredinUSA January2014

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9 wiredInUSA - January 2014
Rubber stamp for $1.48bn investment
The board of directors of the US Midcontinent
Independent System Operator Inc (MISO)
has unanimously approved the MISO’s
2013 transmission expansion plan, which
includes $1.48 billion of investment in 317
new projects.
MISO has compiled annual transmission
expansion plans, known as MTEPs, since
2003. The MTEP has led to completed
projects worth around $6.2 billion, and
about $17.9 billion in total investment since
2003, according to the 2013 MTEP report.
The $1.48 billion of new transmission
investment approved by MISO's board
is in line with the roughly $1.47 billion
recommended in last year's MTEP, but
below 2011's MTEP, which saw around $6.51
billion in recommended new transmission
investment.
The new projects recommended in the 2013
MTEP include 79 baseline reliability projects
needed to meet North American Electric
Reliability Corporation reliability standards.
The total cost for these projects is about $372
million. Three of the new projects concern
generator interconnection, with a total
estimated cost of about $15 million.
The remaining 235 projects, totaling $1.1
billion of investment, do not qualify as
market efficiency projects but could
provide advantages, such as supporting
lower-voltage transmission or providing local
economic benefits, according to MISO's
MTEP report.
MAKING
THENEWS