At its December 16, 2015 Planning Advisory Committee meeting, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) unveiled the initial results of its near-term analysis of the CPP, which is meant to provide policymakers with an understanding of compliance pathways. MISO included a range of sensitivities in its modeling in order to provide insight into the range of compliance strategies possible under the rules. Sensitivities modeled included natural gas prices, renewable portfolio standards, incremental coal retirements, and CO2 costs. In total, MISO ran 675 simulations. The results of MISO’s analysis indicate that flexibility in compliance strategies will allow for lower cost compliance options. MISO also found that the costs of compliance strategies are highly influenced by natural gas prices. Additionally, MISO’s analysis suggests that coal retirements are significantly dependent on other variables.
MISO will present additional results of its near-term analysis at the January meeting of the Planning Advisory Committee.
