MISO Dashboard

As submitted, the MTEP process is not structured to provide a comprehensive and robust review of alternatives. Transmission owners submit proposed projects each year in September. From there, model development occurs until April and the MTEP team performs an independent TPL analysis with results available in May. Stakeholders are requested to provide final and viable alternative solutions by the end of May, leaving stakeholders only a few weeks to review final MISO models, evaluate mitigations, and propose alternative solutions. MISO then performs analysis on the provided alternatives and shares its recommendations with stakeholders at the last TSTF in August. This compressed schedule allows no time for iterative development / refinement of solutions leading to sub-optimized planning and regular carryover work to the next MTEP cycle.

The MTEP process as currently structured is designed primarily as a compliance review rather than a process intended for stakeholder participation and engagement. Several deficiencies have been observed with the current process: 

• Lack of defined information exchange period for TO’s and stakeholders leads to process timeline misalignment and hinders coordinated planning.
• Transmission Owners do not publish information on the most limiting transmission system elements. Stakeholders are unable to evaluate if transmission constraints can be easily mitigated or require extensive upgrades. 

This issue was originally submitted by DTE Energy in January 2020 and revised in January 2021.

Issue IR091 subsumed PAC-2021-4 and will be addressed by the Planning Subcommittee (PSC).