MISO Board of Directors week is a summary of what the MISO staff and stakeholders have been working on that quarter, as well as a look at their future plans.
MISO is hosting this quarter’s Board of Directors meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana from March 24 through 26. While in-person registration is closed, we encourage you to register to join virtually and make a comment.
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, commonly known as MISO (pronounced MY-so), is a nonprofit organization that manages the flow of electricity across 15 states, including most of Louisiana.
Think of it like this: Transmission lines are like highways for power. MISO helps ensure we have enough highways, or transmission lines, to move electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s needed.
Investor-owned utilities win when they can build a grid that benefits their own assets, residents win when we have more access to our neighbors’ grids so that when electricity demand is high and power is expensive locally, we can access other more affordable, diverse energy sources nearby.
MISO is a regional transmission organization (RTO) and there are 7 RTOs across the country. Entergy Louisiana, Entergy New Orleans and Cleco are all members of MISO. SWEPCO is a member of a different RTO, the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).
In 2024 MISO provided members $4.5+ billion in benefits and SPP provided members $3.9 billion in benefits. For every $1 spent on MISO membership, Louisiana receives $15 in benefits.
There will be several public comment opportunities that you can take advantage of, but we recommend attending the final Board of Directors open session on March 26, as this is where you can make general comments. Comments at the Committee meetings should be topic specific.
Louisianans endure far too many outages, and we’re sick of being left in the dark. In many cases, there is enough generation (aka power) on the grid, but the power can’t reach us because of a lack of transmission. One of the main problems is years of delayed regional long-term transmission planning. Utilities like Entergy, our regulators at the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) and New Orleans City Council (CNO), and MISO need to work together to ensure projects that benefit our region move forward.
The MISO Open Board meeting is an opportunity to voice your concerns and call on MISO to move projects that benefit our region forward. You can speak up, advocate for a stronger more connected electric grid, and one that works for people, not just utilities.
In-person registration is now closed, but you can still register to join virtually. To attend virtually you don’t need to complete the general registration form, but you must register for each meeting you’d like to attend through WebEx.
You must do this for each of the meetings you would like to attend.
At the end of each meeting there is time allowed for comments from the public. MISO tech support staff will announce when the public comment period is open. In-person comments will be heard first. Then they will announce they’re taking comments through the WebEx portal. Use the raise hand function to indicate you have a comment and they will call on you. The comment is intended to be delivered to the Board of Directors; however MISO staff, senior leadership, and other MISO members are listening as well.
Make sure to say your name, and that you’re a residential ratepayer in the MISO footprint. If your organization is a MISO Sector member, make sure to name your organization and indicate which sector you are a part of, i.e. the Consumer Advocate Sector.
We know making a comment can feel intimidating, but it doesn’t have to! Take a look at our example comment below and feel free to pull from it.
My name is ____ . I am a resident of [parish] and a residential ratepayer in the MISO footprint. I encourage MISO to move projects that benefit residents like me forward. I want to see a grid that allows us to access more renewable energy.
Because MISO South, which includes Louisiana, isn’t well connected to the broader MISO grid, when a power plant goes offline here, we can’t easily pull in power from other states in MISO, even though it’s available. That means our lights go out or our costs go up. Residents like me could benefit a lot if MISO moves forward with long-range transmission planning for the South. Please move that process forward so we can be better connected to our neighbors. Residents like me simply can’t afford to wait any longer.
MISO’s decisions help to shape the future of our electric grid in the MISO South states (AR, LA, MS, eastern TX). Making public comments helps ensure our electric grid is affordable, reliable, and built with residents’ needs in mind.
What: MISO Board of Directors week
When: Tuesday, March 24, 2026 to Thursday, March 26, 2026
Where: New Orleans, LA & virtually on WebEx
Register to attend virtually: www.misoenergy.org/engage/tools/calendar/#/workWeek/03-24-2026
Please note in-person registration is now closed.
