MPSC Staff Proposal on Michigan Planning Consortium Structure and
Future Activities
For Discussion Purposes Only
Consortium Purpose:
In July 2008, the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) issued an order
establishing the Michigan Planning Consortium. The purpose of the Consortium
is to improve the planning process for electricity infrastructure projects and
identify possible ways to reduce costs to ratepayers. As directed by the MPSC,
the initial goals of the Consortium include the following:

Ensuring adequate sharing of information throughout the planning
process on a local and detailed level.

Evaluating energy infrastructure alternatives, including proposed
transmission projects.

Examining the cost effects of various alternatives on Michigan
customers.

Recommending the most effective ways for Michigan stakeholders to
participate in regional planning processes, and related state and
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceedings,
including MPSC Act 30 certification proceedings.
Consortium Structure and Meetings:
Staff will convene Consortium meetings and / or workgroup meetings on a
monthly basis as recommended by the MPSC.1 These meetings will be both
informational and policy oriented. The full Consortium will provide guidance to
workgroups and Staff and make decisions on deliverables, which may include
proposed recommendations to the MPSC or other entities. The full Consortium
will also advise Staff regarding meeting agendas; monitor and coordinate
workgroup activities; and ensure that the Consortium stays on task to achieve the
MPSC’s stated goals in its July 1 order. The Consortium will attempt to resolve
issues and reach decisions by consensus. If consensus cannot be reached in a
timely manner, minority position(s) can be presented in the recommendation or
other deliverable.
Three workgroups will address the three Areas of Focus outlined below. The
workgroups are responsible for conducting necessary research, developing
recommendations, providing deliverables, and presenting their work to the
1
In some months, individual workgroup meetings may be held rather than the full
Consortium.
Page 1 of 5
7/11/2016
Consortium. Each workgroup will be co-chaired by a Staff representative, and an
industry representative.
Areas of Focus / Workgroups:
There are three separate workgroups to handle the following three topics or
Areas of Focus:
1) Information sharing and local planning assumptions - address
Michigan-specific issues such as information sharing, application of
planning criteria and assumptions, and evaluation of infrastructure and
resource alternativesrelated primarily to transmission planning performed
at the local and regional transmission organization levels;
2) Renewable and other generation integration - - study and make
recommendations regarding infrastructure expansion to facilitate
renewable and other generation development in Michigan; and
3) 765 kV loop - focus on the proposed 765 kV loop through Michigan, and
the extra-high voltage grid proposals being studied under the Midwest
Transmission Expansion Plan 2009 and the Joint Coordinated System
Plan. Make recommendations regarding analysis techniques or metrics
used to evaluate economic transmission proposals.
The Consortium’s role with respect to these three topics is outlined below.
Areas of Focus 1: Information Sharing and Local Planning Assumptions
The overarching goals of this group are to increase information sharing related to
electric system planning and to develop agreed-upon processes, practices, and
assumptions that will facilitate future or ongoing planning activities. Although the
scope of this workgroup is not limited to transmission planning at the local and
regional levels, it will be a central focus at least initially.
This group will build on the existing Michigan Sub Regional Technical Study Task
Force that was established by the Midwest ISO following the issuance of FERC
Order 890. This task force was formed in 2008 to address Michigan-specific
transmission planning issues, particularly near-term reliability planning in the
Lower Peninsula. Participants currently include representation by MPSC Staff,
the Midwest ISO, load serving entities, industrial customers, and transmission
owners in the Lower Peninsula.
The workgroup would research, discuss, and convene meetings to accomplish
the following:
Page 2 of 5
7/11/2016
1) Improve information sharing among Michigan entities associated with
regional and local planning activities, including load forecasting and other
planning-related inputs and assumptions. This could be done by
convening educational forums and reviewing existing practices and written
protocols to work toward increased transparency, data exchange, and
inclusiveness in the planning process.
2) Review and discuss applicable planning standards, criteria and
assumptions to ensure common understanding of and attempt to reach
consensus on how they are applied in Michigan; if necessary, develop
proposed revisions based on the group’s input to improve specificity or
reflect agreed-upon assumptions.2
3) Discuss tools, methodologies, processes, and forums to evaluate resource
alternatives, including demand response, generation, distribution and
transmission, in light of Michigan’s electric industry structure. A
deliverable may be to develop written guidelines on how infrastructure
alternatives, which may include transmission projects, distribution
upgrades, demand response/energy efficiency, or generation, can be
presented and reviewed to determine their impacts on and benefits to
Michigan ratepayers. This work could clarify what information is needed
and when and how to develop and review alternatives. It could also result
in a proposed methodology for analyzing different types of alternatives in
terms of performance, cost impacts, etc. This work should also explore
timing issues and the level of commitment needed if non-transmission
alternatives are going to be relied upon to meet applicable transmission
planning standards.
Policy issues, work products, and recommendations emerging from these
activities will be presented to the full Consortium for guidance and determination
of appropriate next steps. Some work products may ultimately need to be
presented to other jurisdictions or entities for approval or implementation.
Staff believes the activities outlined above would collectively address the initial
goals outlined in the MPSC’s July 1 Order: sharing information, evaluating
infrastructure proposals and alternatives including costs, and effectively
participating in regional processes. Resolution of differences among key players
on specific issues that emerge through the planning process will help regional
transmission organizations (RTO) perform necessary regional modeling and
planning that includes Michigan. In the long term, these activities may reduce or
avoid disputes in the broader RTO stakeholder processes and Michigan Public
Act 30 certification proceedings.
This workgroup will be co-chaired by Sally Talberg, MPSC Staff, and Digaunto
Chatterjee, Midwest ISO.
2
Changes may need to be passed on to appropriate entities or authorities for approval or
implementation.
Page 3 of 5
7/11/2016
Area of Focus 2: Renewable and Other Generation Integration
Michigan needs a transmission system that will support the efficient development
of cost-effective renewable energy in the state while providing high-reliability
delivery of affordable power to all in-state loads. At present, there is
considerable interest in the development of substantial quantities of wind generation
in several areas in Michigan, and Michigan’s major transmission companies have
federally approved cost allocation policies that make development attractive
here. Moreover, proposed state and federal legislation and other policies, if
enacted, would likely further boost renewable energy infrastructure development
in Michigan. It is expected that significant upgrades to the transmission system
will be needed to support the substantial build-out of Michigan’s renewable
energy resources.
This workgroup focuses on transmission planning related to wind energy
resource development but it will also consider other generation integration issues
to identify ways to best coordinate and hopefully optimize transmission
expansion in Michigan. The ultimate goals of this group are to examine the
likely costs and benefits of different development scenarios for future Michigan
electric power generation, and to develop a plan to optimize transmission
expansion to support the development of renewable and other generation in the
state. As an initial task, this workgroup will help guide the on-going the Michigan
Wind Energy Transmission Study (MI-WETS).3 That study is exploring
transmission needs for various levels of future wind energy development in
various promising areas in both the Upper and Lower Peninsulas. The
workgroup will review the transmission companies’ modeling results for MIWETS, review and assist in drafting reports, and recommend to the Consortium
needed next steps.
This group will be co-chaired by Tom Stanton, MPSC Staff, and Ken Copp, ATC.
Area of Focus 3: 765 kV Loop
ITC and AEP have proposed a 765 kV loop through lower Michigan, and similar
extra-high voltage projects in the region have also been studied in various forums
in the past.
For this focus area, Staff envisions that the workgroup review existing studies
regarding high voltage transmission expansion in lower Michigan, and possibly
the Midwest ISO region, including the ITC / AEP proposed 765 kV loop through
lower Michigan. The group would then identify the qualitative and quantitative
The Michigan Wind Working Group of the MPSC’s Michigan Renewable Energy
Program provided input on the assumptions for the MI-WETS. Results of this study are not yet
available. See http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,7-159-16377_47107_48701---,00.html
3
Page 4 of 5
7/11/2016
advantages or implications of the projects, as well as roadblocks to project
implementation. This group will investigate quantifying potential reliability or
operational benefits of proposed economic transmission projects to determine if
they should be included as potential value drivers when analyzing larger scale
economic transmission proposals. This group will examine the potential impact
of proposed economic transmission projects on Michigan network and retail
customers.
The proposed deliverable from this area of focus could be recommendations for
further study or policy recommendations to the MPSC, Midwest ISO, PJM, and/or
the FERC. The group could work in multiple forums to eliminate potential
roadblocks so that advantageous projects could be implemented.
This group will be co-chaired by Cathy Cole, MPSC Staff, and Brian Thumm,
ITC.
Page 5 of 5
7/11/2016