Midwest ISO approves expansion plan

December 21, 2011

The Midwest ISO’s board of directors approved the regional transmission operator’s 2011 Transmission Expansion Plan (MTEP11). Developed over an 18-month period, the long-term regional plan is expected to improve reliability for the electric grid and make it easier to deliver electricity generated from renewable sources to our part of the nation.

“The projects in MTEP11 will make low-cost electricity accessible and create thousands of jobs in the process,” said John R. Bear, MISO’s president and chief executive officer. The plan includes 215 new transmission infrastructure projects, which Bear said are “essential to helping the region manage the severe drop in planning reserve margins that is likely to occur in the next several years if pending environmental regulations proceed as planned.”

Wabash Valley’s staff is reviewing the plan to determine the potential impacts upon our membership. We anticipate that the infrastructure improvements will eventually lead to some increased costs for consumers, but it appears that the increases will be offset by better access to affordable sources of power and much greater grid reliability.