MISO
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Renewables
MISO: Avoiding the Mess Facing Other Wholesale Competitive Electric Markets
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s (MISO’s) geographic footprint extends down the middle of the U.S. Because of the structure of its market, MISO has artfully avoided some nasty policy and
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Legal & Regulatory
Power Market Operators and Participants See a Glimmer of Optimism in Current Chaos
The conversation at the ELECTRIC POWER Conference and Exhibition, as underscored by comments made in its keynote address and at the annual event’s executive roundtable, was optimistic yet cautious, owing to
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Legal & Regulatory
U.S. Electric Markets in Transition
The U.S. market for electricity is trifurcated. More than half the country is served by competitive generators bidding against each other in wholesale markets. Almost half is served by conventional state-regulated, vertically integrated utilities controlling generation and transmission. The rest, a much smaller portion, consists of government-owned and customer-owned utilities, some of which are generators […]
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Coal
AEP to Shed Ohio, Indiana Coal and Gas Plants in Move for Full Regulation
In an effort to become a fully regulated power company, American Electric Power (AEP) has agreed to sell four Midwestern power plants—representing a total of 5.2 GW—to a newly formed joint venture of Blackstone and ArcLight Capital Partners for about $2.17 billion. AEP will sell: the 1,186-MW natural gas–fired Lawrenceburg Generating Station in Lawrenceburg, Ind. […]
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Press Releases
Southern Company subsidiary to acquire natural gas-fired power facility in Minnesota
ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power today announced its agreement to acquire the Mankato Energy Center from Calpine Corporation, subject to customary closing conditions. Located in Mankato, Minnesota, the center will include two natural gas units – the existing 375-megawatt (MW) Mankato Energy Center I and the 345-MW Mankato Energy […]
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Renewables
Experts: Gas Power’s Expansion Riddled with Roadblocks
Even though it may dominate forecasts, natural gas–fired generation faces a troubled expansion in the U.S., according to experts from a variety of stake-holding entities—including an industry group, a utility, a generator, and a pipeline company. Challenges that have few solutions—from price volatility, to gas transport concerns, to rule uncertainty—may upend the nation’s dependence […]
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Coal
Dynegy to Shut Down 30% of Southern Illinois’s Power Generation Capacity
Dynegy Inc. announced on May 3 that it plans to shut down multiple Illinois coal-fueled units due mainly to the failure of the plants to recover basic operating costs in recent Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) capacity auctions. According to the company, the generation that will be lost is 2,800 MW—about 30% of the total […]
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Legal & Regulatory
MISO Says Clean Power Plan Could Cut Its Coal Generation by Half
A new analysis from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), the nation’s second-largest ISO, predicted that compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Clean Power Plan (CPP) could slash coal’s share of its generation from 59% in 2014 to potentially as low as 26% by 2030. The report came ahead of MISO’s planning advisory committee […]
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Renewables
Study: Resource Adequacy Concerns Mostly Stem From Restructured Electric Markets
Most issues concerning resource adequacy have arisen in the context of restructured wholesale and retail electric markets, rather than from traditionally regulated electric markets, a new study from the Electric Markets Research Foundation (EMRF) suggests. The nonprofit EMRF, established in 2012 by “academics and other experts” to fund studies on electric market issues, notes in […]
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O&M
MISO Prepares for Hurricane Season
Todd Hillman As hurricane season begins this year, utilities across the Gulf Coast will have a new partner as they work to keep the lights on after extreme weather events. Starting in late 2013, the