Commissioner James Danly Concurrence Regarding Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.

Commissioner James Danly Statement
October 10, 2023
Docket Nos. ER22-1640-000, ER22-1640-001

I concur with this order on the compliance filing[1] submitted by Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO), in response to Order No. 2222.[2]  I dissented from Order No. 2222 because I disagreed that the Commission should exercise jurisdiction over the participation of Distributed Energy Resources in markets administered by Regional Transmission Organizations or Independent System Operators (collectively, RTOs).[3]  My concern was that the Commission should not be in the business of micro-managing RTO activities that directly affect (and burden) the distribution system which, I must point out again, is primarily under state jurisdiction.

MISO made a good faith effort to comply with Order No. 2222.  While I continue to disagree with Order No. 2222 itself, I agree that MISO failed to fully comply with its scores of dictates.  I do not envy MISO the task we imposed upon them.  One hundred percent compliance probably is impossible in a first, or perhaps even second, attempt.  We shall see.

This underscores my original concern about the Commission’s intrusive interference into the administration of RTO markets and distribution-level systems.  Order No. 2222 not only took over many state powers but also—as confirmed today—permits RTOs extremely limited discretion to do anything other than step in line with the Commission’s directives for how every little thing should work.  This is bad policy, runs contrary to the basic principles underlying the Federal Power Act’s division of jurisdiction between FERC and the states, and is proving to be, as expected, a burdensome waste of time and money.

For these reasons, I respectfully concur.