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After more than two years of planning, preparing and regulatory proceedings, Entergy Corp. on Dec. 19 integrated its four-state footprint into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. control area.
The addition of Entergy and also Cleco Power LLC on Dec. 19 rounds out the new MISO South area of transmission owners and local balancing authorities. Also included in this area are the Lafayette Utilities System, East Texas Electric Cooperative Inc., South Mississippi Electric Power Association, Louisiana Energy & Power Authority and NRG Energy Inc. subsidiary Louisiana Generating LLC.
The Entergy Corp. operating companies are Entergy Arkansas Inc., Entergy Mississippi Inc., Entergy Texas Inc., Entergy Louisiana LLC, Entergy Gulf States Louisiana LLC and Entergy New Orleans Inc.
MISO now manages 65,280 miles of transmission with 196,000 MW of generation capacity, making it one of the largest power grid operators in the world, the grid operator said. "This will result in more efficient dispatch of resources to meet energy demands across the region as reflected in MISO's one-of-a-kind [locational marginal pricing] contour map that allows for a detailed visualization of real-time market conditions," MISO said in a Dec. 19 news release.
The integration added 10 new transmission-owning companies, six local balancing authorities and 33 new market participants from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas to MISO, according to MISO.
Impacts of new South region
The launch of the MISO South region is expected to significantly shift market fundamentals for the central U.S., particularly in demand patterns, fuel mix and transmission.
As part of the MISO South integration, the RTO has added three hubs -- the Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas hubs -- to its four existing hubs in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota. MISO also added two local resources zones. Those zones are used in MISO's resource adequacy process to model the...