MISO Expands Reliability Services for South

CARMEL, Ind., June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Just after 11:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Friday, MISO, the regional transmission organization responsible for the safe, reliable transfer of energy along bulk electric lines, expanded its reliability coordination services to include eight additional entities in three of its four Southern states. Combined with operations for MISO's Midwest region, MISO now manages the flow of energy along 65,280 miles of the interconnected bulk electric system from Manitoba, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In addition to providing reliability services for the Entergy companies and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC), which began Dec. 1, 2012, eight other entities or municipalities are now benefitting from MISO's regional reliability coordination services. Those companies include Cleco, South Mississippi Electric Power Association (SME); Louisiana Energy and Power Authority (LEPA); Louisiana Generating, LLC (LAGN); and four municipal utilities in the region. With the six Entergy operating companies, these companies together serve more than four million customers

"Reliability is our number one priority, and we are pleased to provide this essential service to our Southern region companies," said Todd Ramey, Vice President of System Operations and Market Services. "This first step in transitioning to a single balancing authority provides these companies and the customers they serve with the assurance that a consolidated, regional approach to managing power flows is safe, reliable and cost-effective."

Additionally, the six Entergy operating companies, Cleco and SME are working toward full integration into MISO's market operations by December 2013. As those integration activities continue, MISO posts the progress toward each major milestone on three dashboards, updated monthly. These materials highlight the readiness of Southern region participants, key milestones and activities at MISO.

"MISO's been active in providing training and detail on the market transition," said Jennifer Vosburg, President of Louisiana Generating and senior vice president of NRG. "While there is a significant amount of work left to be done, we believe that MISO is providing the tools and training for a successful transition in December of this year."

"With full integration just six months away, we're doing everything to make the transition as smooth as possible with no surprises," Ramey added. Since MISO began reliability coordination services for Entergy last December, the region has seen an overall reduction in curtailment actions, Ramey said, indicating more efficient use of the bulk electric system.

About MISO  
MISO ensures reliable operation of, and equal access to high-voltage power lines in 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. MISO manages one of the world's largest energy markets, with more than $18 billion in annual gross market energy transactions. MISO was approved as the nation's first regional transmission organization in 2001. The not-for-profit organization is governed by an independent board of directors and is headquartered in Carmel, Ind., with operations centers in Carmel and St. Paul, Minn.

SOURCE MISO