MISO projects sufficient resources for summer season, but risks continue to mount

Above normal temperatures, active hurricane season create uncertainty

For Immediate Release

May 21, 2024

Media Contact

Brandon Morris

CARMEL, Ind. — Today, MISO will outline its 2024 summer assessment, including demand, generation and weather projections.  High risk is anticipated this summer due to the potential for prolonged heat wave(s) or a major hurricane impacting the region. The summer peak forecast is around 123 GW with 143 GW of projected available generation within MISO 

Our teams are constantly working to identify and manage the areas of growing risk within our region and throughout our industry,” said JT Smith, executive director, market operations at MISO.Our mitigation efforts help us anticipate and respond to the trend of more demand and extreme weather with less controllable generation in our footprint.” 

MISO anticipates sufficient capacity under normal operating conditions but will likely have to implement emergency procedures to access additional resources under high-demand scenarios. Preparations to manage risk include implementing lessons learned from previous summer events, collaborating with member utilities and other grid operators, and new tools to accurately project demand and manage uncertainty. 

Reliability is our focus every hour of every day, but the summer season brings a unique set of challenges for us and our stakeholders to manage,” said Jessica Lucas, MISO’s executive director, system operations. “The continuing trend of reduced generation surplus can create sudden and unexpected operating conditions we have to be ready for anything.  

This year’s Planning Resource Auction indicated sufficient capacity in all but one MISO region The auction also showed a 30 percent reduction in capacity surplus, driven by the retirement of highly accredited thermal resources, an increased planning reserve margin requirement, and fewer external offers.  

MISO Reliability Imperative efforts are focused on reliably managing the changing resource portfolio by working with utilities and states to refine resource plans, maintain traditional resources and increasing coordination For more information, see the 2024 Summer Readiness Workshop presentation materials available on the MISO website.  

 ### 

About MISO  

Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that delivers safe, cost-effective electric power across 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. 45 million people depend on MISO to generate and transmit the right amount of electricity every minute of every day. MISO is committed to reliable, nondiscriminatory operation of the bulk power transmission system and collaborating with all stakeholders to create cost-effective and innovative solutions for our changing industry. MISO operates one of the world’s largest energy markets with more than $40 billion in annual gross market energy transactions.   

News Release Link