Across the country, rapidly growing demand for electricity is driving development of new power supply. In the Midwest, grid operator MISO considers transmission and interconnection needs for new generation and battery storage projects separately from their biggest users — new large loads like manufacturing plants and data centers. This fractured approach leads to a mismatch in timelines for developers, as well as inefficiencies that raise costs. A proposed new approach, called the Generator and Load Interconnection Process (GALIP), brings evaluation of new generation and large loads together for efficiency, speed, and savings.
Why Interconnection Streams Should Be Consolidated
In today’s siloed approach to grid studies at MISO, a number of challenges arise:
- Significantly different timelines among various study tracks for generation projects versus timelines for new large loads lead to capacity mismatches, stalled projects, and rising costs for developers.
- An incomplete view of future transmission needs and system demands driven by both new generation and new large electricity users results in inefficiencies and redundancies, leading to costlier transmission build-out, possible cost shifting to ratepayers, and higher reliability risk.
- Numerous separate studies add significant complexity and administrative burden for MISO and State Commissions, straining staff resources and increasing costs.
GALIP overcomes these problems by evaluating all of the following together in one consolidated study process: new large electricity users; generation projects; projects that combine generation and new users at or near the same location; and flexible service arrangements that allow new users to reduce their electricity use during peak-demand periods. In other words, generation, load, and transmission needs are considered at the same time. Some projects that are more “shovel ready” would qualify for a fast-track to accelerate their path to interconnection.
How States and Consumers Will Benefit
The benefits of GALIP for consumers and states would be far reaching. They include:
- Avoided cost shifting. Instead of forcing consumers to subsidize the costs of new large loads, generation, and the transmission upgrades they require, GALIP would gather the data needed to ensure costs are correctly allocated.
- Increased certainty. The proposal includes stronger entry requirements and limits intended to reduce speculative requests — changes designed to avoid repeat studies and provide more predictable outcomes for projects advancing through the process. There are also incentives for early withdrawal, reducing the late-stage withdrawals that most often prompt costly restudies and delays.
- Cost savings. Streamlining studies and reducing speculative projects avoids redundant upgrades and cost overruns on projects, and saves staff time. Southwest Power Pool (SPP), MISO’s neighboring grid operator, estimates that its combined interconnection and regional-planning process will save $3 million annually, while also avoiding over $100 million in duplicative transmission-upgrade costs for every integrated transmission-planning cycle.
- Better forecasting. Studying new generation and large loads together provides a more complete picture of future system needs, ensuring planners can identify more efficient solutions early on and avoid unnecessary or duplicative upgrades while leveraging advanced transmission technologies to their fullest extent.
- Faster service. A proposed fast-track option would allow eligible projects to enter an ongoing study cycle rather than having to wait for a future cycle, which will help address the need for speed to power for large loads and new generation.
Time to Act
Urge MISO to work with stakeholders to adopt the GALIP proposal in place of MISO’s Large Load Addition Resource Study (LARS), which would be another siloed interconnection path. Alternatively, MISO could consider filing the LARS proposal at FERC as a temporary solution with a one-year sunset while pursuing GALIP as a longer-term solution. As the region confronts rising demand and increasing grid-investment needs, GALIP offers a common-sense, cost-effective pathway toward more efficient and transparent interconnection. This could also be a first step toward a consolidated interconnection and transmission-planning approach, similar to SPP’s Consolidated Planning Process.
Click here to download the GALIP Info Sheet.
For more information, please contact Drew Siebenaler, Managing Consultant —Transmission, Energy Futures Group: [email protected]; 651.202.5201