ISO
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Commentary
The Erosion of Energy Affordability
Since 2024, America’s airwaves have been flooded with phrases like “nuclear renaissance” and “drill, baby, drill.” Energy affordability has occupied the minds of the president, state legislators, regulators, energy suppliers, and utility companies, as everyday Americans confront rising energy costs. States like California have seen an increase in electricity bills between 2021 and 2024 of […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Nation’s Power Operators Warn Congress of a Coming Reliability Shortfall
Seven major U.S. grid operators have raised a unified alarm about an impending capacity crunch, warning that the pace and scale of explosive demand—including from data centers, manufacturing, and electrification—pose a precarious misalignment with accelerating generator retirements and transmission constraints. At a March 25 hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy, the […]
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Hybrid Power
Navigating the Interconnection Queue Is One of Many Challenges Clean-Energy Projects Face
There are several obstacles to overcome when building a clean-energy project, but perhaps the biggest is getting through the generator interconnection queue (GIQ). Every regional transmission organization (RTO) and independent system operator (ISO) in the U.S. has a significant backlog in its GIQ and processing interconnection requests can take years to complete. This has created […]
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T&D
What Is ERCOT and What Does It Do?
To understand what the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is, it helps to understand how the North American electric power system is configured. The contiguous U.S. is comprised of three power grids or “interconnections.” The Eastern Interconnection reaches from central Canada eastward to the Atlantic coast (excluding Québec), south to Florida, and west to […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Increased Demand Is Fueling Interconnection Process Changes
Electrical system operators are seeing an increase in potential projects seeking to connect to the power grid. Ideally, this growth in application activity means that energy systems and networks will become
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Press Releases
MISO’s CEO to Lead Two International Energy Industry Associations in 2023
John Bear Elected President of GO15 and Appointed Chairman of the IRC Carmel, Ind. – MISO announced today that CEO John Bear has been elected president of GO15, an international association of electricity grid operators who manage more than 50% of global energy flows. Separately, John Bear has been appointed chairman of the ISO/RTO Council […]
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Commentary
What RTOs and ISOs Can Learn from the Parable of the Fox and the Hedgehog
An ancient proverb imparts: the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. This insight is expanded through the moral of Aesop’s fable, “The Fox and the Hedgehog,” which
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Press Releases
MISO’s Forward View of the Value Proposition projects increasing regional benefits from MISO membership
Regional coordination becomes even more valuable during the energy transition CARMEL, Ind. — Today, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) announces the Forward View of the Value Proposition which projects the benefits of MISO membership for 2030 and 2040. The Forward View will reflect expanded value streams including the projected value of sharing flexible resources […]
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Legal & Regulatory
Former FERC Commissioner Says ‘Market Design Problem’ Was a Leading Cause of February 2021 Texas Power Crisis
In February 2021, a severe cold weather event, known as Winter Storm Uri, caused numerous power outages, derates, or failures to start at electric generating plants scattered across Texas and the south-central U.S. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), which manages the power supply for about 90% of the load in Texas, ordered a […]
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Press Releases
MISO report provides insights on future market needs for the changing energy landscape
Reliability Imperative efforts key to addressing the needs of the future CARMEL, Ind. — Today, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) published Markets of the Future: A Reliability Imperative Report focused on redefining markets to meet changing needs posed by the evolving resource mix. The report is intended to illuminate a pathway for our existing […]
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Solar
How Different Power Grid Operators Are Approaching Renewable-Storage Hybrid Participation
Pairing renewable resources with energy storage systems makes a lot of sense. However, grid operators are still developing frameworks for handling these hybrid projects but they may need to be treated
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Markets
FERC Tackles Modernization of U.S. Power Markets
The seven major organized electricity markets scattered across the U.S. account for roughly two-thirds of all power generated in the country. Most of these markets are made up of Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) that were created more than twenty years ago. The primary mission of the markets is to neutrally […]
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Press Releases
New features added to California ISO’s energy conservation alerts
Flex Alert program now allows consumers to indicate potential participation FOLSOM, Calif. – The California Independent System Operator (ISO) has launched an upgraded version of its popular Flex Alert voluntary energy conservation program to add direct customer feedback and boost participation. The enhancements include an option for users to indicate their willingness to reduce electricity […]
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Markets
COVID-19 Makes for an Interesting Summer Peak Season
It’s peak season for the U.S. power industry. While actual dates may vary from one utility to another, generally the summer peak period spans from Memorial Day (May 25 this year) to Labor Day (Sept. 7)
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Cybersecurity
NERC Moves to Defer Reliability Standards, Provide COVID-19 Flexibility
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to delay the implementation of seven reliability standards that relate to cybersecurity, training, disturbance monitoring and reporting, generator relay loadability, and coordination of protection systems for performance during faults. In an April 6 filing to FERC, NERC noted the rules […]
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Commentary
Energy Storage—Operational Versatility Causes a Regulatory Identity Crisis
The next decade could belong to energy storage. Project development costs are dropping. Enhanced state and corporate focus on climate-related issues is producing more opportunities for renewable generation and
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Safety
The Future Direction of Respiratory Protection
An estimated 5 million U.S. workers wear respirators. Employers are required to provide National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified respirators using a written respiratory protection program enforced by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Design and manufacturing focus on fit, comfort, and ease of use across product lines incorporating advanced technologies, such […]
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News
Energy Storage Resources: A Year in Review
From both a regulatory and development perspective, 2018 was a significant year for the expansion of energy storage resources (ESRs). From a significant ruling of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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Renewables
More Efficient with Fewer Emissions: Cement Factory Finds Sugar-Based Biomass a Sweet Solution
Environmental regulations and a need to reduce its fuel consumption provide the incentive for an Egyptian plant to change its manufacturing process. Energy companies constantly grapple with controlling the
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Commentary
The Power Grid’s Great Transition
POWER has been reporting for many years on changes taking place in the power generation mix around the globe. Renewable energy, such as wind and solar generation, has been growing steadily in most parts of the
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Coal
Sufficient Blackstart Capability Exists on Grid, Say NERC, FERC
Despite the recent retirement of “blackstart” units, grid operators have sufficient resources to quickly restore systems in the event of widespread outages, suggests a new report by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). The report—“FERC-NERC-Regional Entity Joint Review of Restoration and Recovery Plans”—released May […]
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Distributed Energy
How Are Distributed Energy Resources Affecting Transmission System Operators?
What are distributed energy resources (DERs)? For many people, rooftop solar is the first thing that comes to mind, but when you ask that question of an independent system operator (ISO)—the folks who
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O&M
ISOs, RTOs Outline Winterization Efforts
In presentations to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the nation’s regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) on Sept. 17 outlined measures they are taking to prevent issues if faced with extreme weather this winter. The measures are to prevent widespread generation outages as occurred during the Jan. 6–7, 2014, polar vortex. […]