Entergy’s large transmission system and five operating companies in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and eastern Texas have been integrated into the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).  This extends MISO’s footprint to 15 states from Canada down to the Gulf of Mexico, making MISO the largest Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) by geography.  The integration adds about 18,000 miles of transmission lines and 40,000 MW of generation to the MISO footprint.

Both MISO and Entergy have described the customer benefits that joining MISO will provide, including an estimated $1.4 billion in cost savings for customers and associated operational efficiencies.  A number of other transmission owners and market participants in the Entergy region joined MISO as well, riding the coat tails of Entergy.

RTOs such as MISO dispatch generation, operate day-ahead and real-time energy and ancillary services markets, control the transmission grid and maintain reliability over a defined region.  As a general matter, increasing the geographic scope of the RTO increases dispatch efficiencies and provides benefits to customers and other market participants.  In orders issued by FERC more than a decade ago that defined the RTO concept, FERC specified large regional scope as an important feature that would enhance the value of the RTO as a grid manager and market operator.  At FERC’s December 19 public meeting, Acting Chairman LaFleur and Commissioners congratulated MISO and Entergy on the successful integration.

Tags: Entergy, MISO, RTO
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Photo of Bill Massey Bill Massey

Before joining Covington as head of its energy practice, William Massey served as a Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for over ten years.

Working out of Covington’s Washington, DC office, Bill has a high profile, broad-based energy regulatory and government…

Before joining Covington as head of its energy practice, William Massey served as a Commissioner at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for over ten years.

Working out of Covington’s Washington, DC office, Bill has a high profile, broad-based energy regulatory and government affairs practice. He has extensive experience with complex regulatory issues before FERC and state utility commissions, and with energy legislative matters before Congress and state general assemblies.

Bill advises clients on mergers and acquisitions, enforcement and investigations, electricity and natural gas markets, energy exports, wholesale and retail market structure, transmission and pipeline infrastructure investment, RTO tariffs, and legislative strategy at the federal and state levels.

Bill’s clients include investment firms and banks, utilities, independent power producers, pipelines and shippers, oil and gas companies, project developers, gas and electricity marketers, customers, and energy companies on a wide variety of energy matters. He also served for a decade as outside counsel to a large and diverse coalition of energy companies, demand response providers and is recognized by Chambers and Chambers Global, Best Lawyers in America, Legal 500 US for Energy, and as a Washington, DC Super Lawyer.

Drawing on over 35 years as a Washington insider and counselor, including almost a decade as Chief Counsel to a prominent U.S. Senator, Bill understands the intersection of policy, legislation and regulation. He offers a highly effective combination of strategic, legal and policy skills to his clients.

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