Letter order granting the MISO and MISO Transmission Owners abeyance motion over American Municipal Power's opposition

Document text

196 FERC ¶ 61,133
FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC  20426

August 14, 2026

							In Reply Refer To:
		Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc.
AEP Indiana Michigan Transmission Company, Inc. 
ALLETE, Inc. 
Ameren Illinois Company
Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois
American Transmission Company, LLC
Cleco Power LLC
Duke Energy Indiana, LLC
Entergy Arkansas, LLC
Entergy Louisiana, LLC
Entergy Mississippi, LLC
Entergy New Orleans, LLC
Entergy Texas, Inc. 
GridLiance Heartland LLC
Indianapolis Power & Light Company
International Transmission Company
ITC Midwest LLC
Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC
MidAmerican Energy Company
Montana-Dakota Utilities Company
Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC
Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation
Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin Corporation
Northwestern Wisconsin Electric Company
Otter Tail Power Company
Pioneer Transmission, LLC
Republic Transmission, LLC
Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company
Union Electric Company
Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc. 
Docket No. EL26-70-000
					

Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
720 City Center Drive
Carmel, IN  46032
Attention:  Christopher D. Supino 

Dear Mr. Supino:
On June 18, 2026, the Commission initiated a show cause proceeding under section 206 of the Federal Power Act (FPA)[fn:2] (Show Cause Order).[fn:3]  The Show Cause Order directed Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) and the Transmission Owners to explain why MISO’s Open Access Transmission, Energy, and Operating Reserve Markets Tariff (Tariff) remains just and reasonable and not unduly discriminatory or preferential without certain Tariff provisions addressing large loads and co-located loads, or propose Tariff revisions addressing the Commission’s concerns.  It also directed MISO and the Transmission Owners, within 60 days of the date of the order, to respond to the Show Cause Order and the briefing questions.  Responses to the Show Cause Order are due on August 17, 2026, with answers due 30 days after the responses are filed.[fn:4]  
On August 3, 2026, pursuant to Rule 212 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure,[fn:5] MISO and the MISO Transmission Owners (MISO TOs)[fn:6] filed a motion to hold the above-referenced show cause proceeding in abeyance, in full, for 90 days, pending completion of MISO’s stakeholder proceedings and submittal of a series of FPA section 205[fn:7] filings to address the Commission’s preliminary findings in the Show Cause Order (Abeyance Motion).[fn:8]  In this order, we grant the Abeyance Motion filed by MISO and the MISO TOs and hold this proceeding in abeyance for 90 days.  
In the Show Cause Order, the Commission stated that MISO and the Transmission Owners may request an abeyance, in whole or in part, for up to 90 days, “while they work through the stakeholder processes to develop FPA section 205 filings to revise the Tariff to address the issues raised in this order.”[fn:9]  The Commission also stated that such requests must include:  “(1) a robust description of the content of a potential future filing under FPA section 205 and (2) a reasoned and specific explanation of when such a filing is expected to be made.”[fn:10]  
MISO and the MISO TOs state that they will address the issues raised in the Show Cause Order through a series of FPA section 205 filings to be submitted during the requested abeyance period.[fn:11]  First, MISO and the MISO TOs state that, by the end of August, MISO expects to submit Tariff changes establishing a new Zero Injection Generator Interconnection Agreement and related study process to facilitate faster resource additions when those resources are designated to serve load at the same substation, thereby accelerating the addition of generation resources that have little or no impact on the transmission system.[fn:12]  Second, they state that they have developed draft Tariff language for a new definition of large load, and that MISO anticipates submitting Tariff changes establishing new large load interconnection reliability requirements that will establish operational requirements for transmission customers serving large loads to ensure visibility and reliable operation of the transmission system.[fn:13]  Third, they state that at the July 16, 2026, Large Load Working Group meeting, MISO presented, and stakeholders accepted, a proposal for a load addition and resource study process that will assess the transmission infrastructure needed to meet new large loads and new generation in an efficient study process that can be completed within 120 days.[fn:14]  Fourth, they state that MISO has presented to the Large Load Working Group initial concepts to accommodate flexible large loads, including a firm transmission service step-up option, and expects to submit an FPA section 205 filing during the abeyance period proposing Tariff revisions to incorporate a firm transmission service step-up option.[fn:15]  Fifth, they state that at the July 16, 2026, Large Load Working Group meeting, MISO presented a proposal for a non-firm large load service option related to the unique operational characteristics of large loads that are willing and able to limit their energy withdrawals under certain conditions and the effect on the need for certain network upgrades, which MISO will continue to develop through discussions at the August 2026 Large Load Working Group meetings.[fn:16]  
Finally, MISO and the MISO TOs state that they are working together to develop additional solutions, processes, and services to address the balance of the Commission’s concerns, specifically the application process, study procedures, and operational requirements applicable to eligible customers seeking transmission service on behalf of large loads and transparency concerning network upgrade costs.[fn:17]  They state that MISO will present concepts and proposed Tariff revisions to the Large Load Working Group as they are developed in anticipation of an FPA section 205 filing in November to address any Commission directives not addressed in a prior FPA section 205 filing.  MISO and the MISO TOs state that the Large Load Working Group is scheduled to meet six times from the date of filing of the Abeyance Motion and the end of the requested abeyance period, and MISO will call special meetings if necessary.[fn:18]  
On August 4, 2026, the Commission issued a notice requiring answers to the Abeyance Motion to be submitted by August 7, 2026.[fn:19]  Corporate Energy Buyers Association and the Organization of MISO States, Inc. filed timely answers in support of the Abeyance Motion.  
American Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP) filed an answer opposing the Abeyance Motion.  AMP argues that the Abeyance Motion fails to meet the standards for abeyance established in the Show Cause Order and only superficially describes a potential future filing under FPA section 205.  AMP argues that costs associated with transmission upgrades to serve large loads are likely to be in the billions of dollars and solutions to ensure proper cost allocation that will avoid cost shifting cannot be solely developed by MISO and the Transmission Owners through proposals that are presented to the rest of the stakeholder community with almost no time for meaningful input.[fn:20]  AMP asserts that, in the interest of expediting resolution of this matter, the Commission should condition abeyance on a future compliance filing by MISO.  Specifically, AMP asserts that the Commission should direct MISO to:  (1) bring forward a specific proposal to meet its obligations under the Show Cause Order to address cost transparency and cost shifting within the next 20 days in the MISO stakeholder process and provide the Commission with a detailed report regarding that proposal; (2) thoroughly vet its proposal with state regulators, consumer advocates, and other representatives of customers and load serving entities that might bear the costs of upgrades required to serve large loads; and (3) work collaboratively with these parties to develop just and reasonable revisions to the Tariff in compliance with the Show Cause Order, to be submitted for the Commission’s approval by the revised deadline, which should be no later than the maximum 90-day abeyance period contemplated in that order (i.e., no later than November 16, 2026).[fn:21] 
We grant the Abeyance Motion filed by MISO and the MISO TOs.  Consistent with the Show Cause Order, MISO and the MISO TOs have provided a description of the filings MISO anticipates making, provided dates by which MISO intends to make such filings, and described the on-going stakeholder process, including stakeholder meeting dates.  Such a stakeholder process will provide MISO, the Transmission Owners, and other stakeholders an opportunity to consider region-specific solutions to the concerns raised in the Show Cause Order.  MISO states that it intends to submit a series of FPA section 205 filings during the abeyance period, with the first filing by the end of August.  
Accordingly, to allow MISO’s stakeholder process to continue so that MISO can make the anticipated described filings, we will grant the Abeyance Motion filed by MISO and the MISO TOs.  We will hold this FPA section 206 proceeding in abeyance, in full, including responses to the Show Cause Order and briefing questions, for 90 days.  However, noting AMP’s answer opposing the Abeyance Motion, we remind MISO and the Transmission Owners that, should their FPA section 205 filings not address all of the Commission’s preliminary findings in the Show Cause Order, the Commission will address those issues through the show cause proceeding.  Therefore, responses to the Show Cause Order will be due on November 16, 2026, and answers to responses will be due on December 16, 2026.  
If MISO or Transmission Owners submit an FPA section 205 filing addressing the Commission’s preliminary findings in the Show Cause Order on or before November 16, 2026, then the obligation of the respondent(s) who have made such an FPA section 205 filing to file a response to the Show Cause Order will be suspended, and this proceeding will continue to be held in abeyance pending further Commission directive in this proceeding.  
To the extent that MISO and/or Transmission Owners intend to request in their FPA section 205 filing that the show cause proceeding be terminated in full or in part if the Commission accepts the filing, we encourage MISO and/or Transmission Owners to explain, with specificity, which of their proposed Tariff revisions they believe resolve all or some of the Commission’s preliminary findings in the Show Cause Order, and whether the Commission should terminate the Show Cause Order, in full or in part.
While we expect MISO and/or Transmission Owners to implement these tariff revisions as expeditiously as possible, we encourage MISO and/or Transmission Owners to propose an effective date that takes into account the necessary time to implement the proposed Tariff revisions and accommodate existing commercial arrangements.
By direction of the Commission.
								


Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.


Footnotes
[fn:2] 16 U.S.C. § 824e.
[fn:3] Midcontinent Indep. Sys. Operator, Inc., 195 FERC ¶ 61,212 (2026) (Show Cause Order), errata notice, 196 FERC ¶ 61,123 (2026).
[fn:4] Id. PP 33, 35.
[fn:5] 18 C.F.R. § 385.212 (2025).
[fn:6] The MISO TOs include:  AEP Indiana Michigan Transmission Company; Ameren Services Company, as agent for Union Electric Company, Ameren Illinois Company; American Transmission Company LLC (ATC); Big Rivers Electric Corporation; Central Minnesota Municipal Power Agency; Citizens Electric Corporation; City Water, Light & Power (Springfield, IL); Cleco Power LLC; Cooperative Energy; Dairyland Power Cooperative; Duke Energy Business Services, LLC for Duke Energy Indiana, LLC; East Texas Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Entergy Arkansas, LLC; Entergy Louisiana, LLC; Entergy Mississippi, LLC; Entergy New Orleans, LLC; Entergy Texas, Inc.; Great River Energy; GridLiance Heartland LLC; Hoosier Energy Rural Electric Cooperative, Inc.; Indiana Municipal Power Agency; Indianapolis Power & Light Company; International Transmission Company; ITC Midwest LLC; Lafayette Utilities System; Michigan Electric Transmission Company, LLC; MidAmerican Energy Company; Minnesota Power (and its subsidiary Superior Water, L&P); Missouri River Energy Services; Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.; Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC; Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota corporation, and Northern States Power Company, a Wisconsin corporation, subsidiaries of Xcel Energy Inc.; Northwestern Wisconsin Electric Company; Otter Tail Power Company; Prairie Power, Inc.; Republic Transmission, LLC; Southern Illinois Power Cooperative; Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company; Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency; Wabash Valley Power Association, Inc.; and Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, Inc.
[fn:7] 16 U.S.C. § 824d.
[fn:8] MISO and the MISO TOs state that ATC joins in this motion in part and that ATC intends to file a separate, individual filing pursuant to FPA section 205 that will be responsive to some of the Commission’s directives in the Show Cause Order.  MISO and the MISO TOs further state that ATC will clearly indicate whether it joins them in each future FPA section 205 filing.  Abeyance Motion at 2 n.5.
[fn:9] Show Cause Order, 195 FERC ¶ 61,212 at P 37.
[fn:10] Id.
[fn:11] Abeyance Motion at 9.
[fn:12] Id. at 10.
[fn:13] Id. at 4, 10.
[fn:14] Id. at 11-12.
[fn:15] Id. at 12.
[fn:16] Id. at 12-13.
[fn:17] Id.
[fn:18] Id. at 13.
[fn:19] Notice Establishing Answer Period, Docket No. EL26-70-000 (issued Aug. 4, 2026).
[fn:20] AMP Answer at 3-4.
[fn:21] Id. at 5.

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