Urgent action is needed to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the bulk electric system, according to a report from the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
MISO’s Attributes Roadmap represents the completion of a “foundational analysis” of system reliability attributes with a focus on three priority attributes MISO identified as the most acute risks to its system: system adequacy, flexibility, and system stability.
In the analysis, MISO developed recommended approaches and solutions based on input from various expert sources, including the transmission operator’s internal subject matter experts and past analyses, MISO stakeholders, external industry research, and industry experts.
MISO undertook the analysis to address the growing diversity of generation resources in its territory, the declining surety of fuel supply, a rise in the intensity and duration of extreme weather, and industrial load growth and electrification trends that MISO said are “poised to disrupt traditional load patterns.”
“These factors create complex challenges for MISO and stakeholders and a shared imperative to urgently act to avoid a looming shortage of necessary system reliability attributes and ensure electricity is delivered every hour of every day to the 45 million people in the MISO region,” the report said.
“No single resource provides every needed system attribute,” the report’s authors said, while adding, “preparing for the energy transition requires an improved understanding of the reliability attributes of the bulk electric system and the advancement of urgent market reforms and requirements to meet the changing system needs.”
In terms of system adequacy, the report recommends a continued focus on one market clearing product, namely, capacity, and further modernizing the resource adequacy construct to address emerging attribute-related risk factors through improved risk modeling, capacity accreditation, and capacity market qualification requirements. The report also recommended providing visibility into future regional system adequacy needs and capabilities through improved forecasting and reporting.
To maintain system flexibility, the MISO report recommended advancing two strategic objectives. First, to focus market signals on emerging flexibility needs through expanded and new ancillary service products and, second, expanding the fleet of qualifying resources able to provide flexibility by enhancing market systems and reforming resource participation models to enable emerging technologies to fully participate.
To maintain system stability, that is, the ability to remain in a state of operating equilibrium under normal operating conditions, as well as the ability to recover from disturbances, the report focused on near-term risk factors to voltage stability. In the report, MISO recommended requirements for inverter-based resource controls should be included as part of the resource interconnection process and incentives for critical reliability capabilities as needed.
MISO said its next step would be to integrate the recommendations in the report into its processes with stakeholder engagement. In addition, MISO said it would continue to monitor the efficacy of planned and implemented solutions, study additional system attributes, and consider solutions beyond this recommendation.
