Dairyland Power Cooperative Integrates Fully into Midwest ISO

CARMEL, Ind., June 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator today announced the integration of Wisconsin-based Dairyland Power Cooperative. Dairyland will add more than 1,300 megawatts of capacity to the Midwest ISO footprint.

"The Midwest ISO is excited and honored to welcome Dairyland Power Cooperative as a transmission owning member," said John Bear, President and CEO of the Midwest ISO. "The addition of Dairyland will increase reliability of the electric grid and the efficiency of the Midwest energy market."

Today's integration dramatically changes the geographic outline of the Midwest ISO balancing authority.  Dairyland's integration into the Midwest ISO reduces the number of tie lines by more than 200 lines and creates greater visibility of system conditions for operators. Because Dairyland's service territory is uniquely situated between Midwest ISO members in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, coordination will be simplified, thereby increasing the efficient delivery of power throughout the region. Additionally, the Dairyland integration brings increased renewable sources of energy, including approximately 37 MW of wind and 24 MW of hydropower energy.

Chuck Callies, Vice President of Power Delivery at Dairyland Power Cooperative, notes, "In addition to the cost savings associated with using the Midwest ISO for contingency reserves, Dairyland expects efficiency improvements as a result of employing consistent congestion management procedures with neighboring systems and facilities."

As a new transmission-owning member, Dairyland will receive benefits from access to the Midwest ISO's Energy Markets, including its wholesale and Ancillary Services Markets. Access to these markets benefit regional grid reliability by providing flexibility to address unexpected loss of generation or transmission reliably and effectively.  This ultimately results in reduced costs for Midwest ISO members.  

"The addition of Dairyland helps the Midwest ISO regionally manage the system now and plan for system needs in the future," said Clair Moeller, Vice President of Transmission Asset Management for the Midwest ISO. "The added capacity helps us to continue operating reliably and will allow us to more efficiently plan and locate future generation, transmission and equipment upgrades across the Midwest."

Prior to June 1st, Dairyland received reliability coordination services from the Midwest ISO. Dairyland marks the fourth new member to integrate into Midwest ISO since September 1, 2009, joining MidAmerican Energy Company, Muscatine Power and Water (MP&W) and the Municipal Electric utility of the City of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The four new members have increased the region's generating capacity by more than 8,800 megawatts.  The Midwest ISO operates one of the world's largest markets for buying and selling energy.

About Dairyland Power Cooperative Headquartered in La Crosse, Dairyland Power Cooperative is a generation and transmission cooperative that provides the wholesale electrical requirements and other services for 25 electric distribution cooperatives and 16 municipal utilities in the Upper Midwest. In turn, these cooperatives and municipals deliver the electricity to consumers — meeting the energy needs of more than half a million people. Dairyland's generation resources include coal, natural gas, hydro, wind, landfill gas and animal waste. For more information, please visit www.dairynet.com.

About the Midwest ISO

The Midwest ISO ensures reliable operation of, and equal access to power lines in 13 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. The Midwest ISO manages one of the world's largest energy markets, clearing nearly $23 billion in energy transactions annually. The Midwest ISO was approved as the nation's first regional transmission organization (RTO) in 2001. The non-profit 501(C)(4) organization is governed by an independent Board of Directors, and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, with operations centers in Carmel and St. Paul, Minnesota. Membership in the organization is voluntary. For more information, visit www.midwestmarket.org.

SOURCE Midwest ISO