MISO, PJM working to coordinate generation retirement studies
Facing the prospect of as much as 4.3 GW of generation retiring by the summer of 2017, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator is working on rules to coordinate generation retirement studies with the PJM Interconnection, stakeholders learned Tuesday.
According to the latest Organization of MISO States survey of resource adequacy released in June, 2.5 GW of generation has a high degree of certainty of retiring by next summer, and another 1.8 GW has the potential for retiring.
On Tuesday, the MISO Planning Subcommittee discussed how it would respond to an April Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order directing MISO and PJM to propose revisions to their joint operating agreement no later than December 15 that require the two independent system operators “to coordinate their generator retirement studies” (Docket No. EL13-88).
Such studies are necessary to determine whether a unit must be retained by an ISO on a reliability-must-run basis, which MISO calls a “system support resource.”
Neil Shah, MISO system support resource planning manager, said the two ISOs plan to allow each to conduct their own studies “with inputs and common assumptions of adjacent system conditions,” while conducting more analysis through the Interregional Planning Stakeholder Advisory Committee if necessary upgrades are identified.
MISO and PJM have different rules, governed by federal tariffs, about how generation retirement studies are handled, Shah said. For example, MISO requires notification 180 days in advance, while PJM’s notice requirement is just 90 days.
Also, MISO allows 75 days to complete a study, while PJM has a 30-day limit to complete an initial assessment.
Information is generally publicly available in PJM, but it is kept confidential in MISO if an SSR designation is not required, except that PJM and MISO can share information between the two ISOs.
MISO and PJM plan to exchange updated study models to bring their assumptions into alignment, Shah said.
MISO and PJM plan to finalize coordination procedure JOA tariff language over September and October, share the language with stakeholders at the November 15 Joint and Common Market stakeholder meeting, and file the proposed revisions by December 15, Shah said.
As part of the process of drafting tariff language, MISO asks stakeholders to submit feedback by September 7, Shah said.
