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 Minneapolis, MN from June 10 through 12. While in-person registration is closed, we encourage you to register to join virtually and make a comment.
Louisiana is a part of a multi-state organization called the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO). MISO was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2001 for the purpose of:
MISO is not a regulator. It is an organization that receives dues from members like utilities, power generators, and developers of transmission projects in exchange for their service in providing technical assistance in planning the grid in their territory for optimal performance, as well as ensuring that power demand is met throughout their footprint with the lowest cost resources.
There are 7 organizations across the country that perform similar functions as MISO. They exist for the express purpose of providing more competition and consumer focused planning and operation of the grid – which utilities in their territories may not otherwise provide.
MISO integrated Entergy’s service territory covering Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi in December of 2013 to alleviate concerns expressed by the Department of Justice regarding anticompetitive transmission planning and power generation dispatch on behalf of Entergy corporation. This established the ‘MISO South’ region and increased the number of states in MISO to 15.
We recommend attending the final Board of Directors open session on June 12, this is where you can make general comments to the Board of Directors. Comments at the committee meetings should be topic specific.
Your voice is needed to ensure MISO prioritizes transmission planning that supports residents interests, not just the interests of utilities. The recent Memorial Weekend Load Shed event that left more than 100,000 people without power was a stark reminder of the consequences of a lack of regional transmission planning. There was enough generation (aka power) on the grid, but the power could not get to us because of a lack of transmission. The real problem that created the situation last month was caused by years of delayed regional long-term transmission planning by utilities like Entergy and the regulators who oversee them, the Louisiana Public Service Commission (LPSC) and New Orleans City Council (CNO).
You can speak up, share your experience during the Memorial Day Load Shed blackout, and ask for a more reliable, resilient grid that works for people, not just utilities. Not sure what to say? Here are some talking points about the May 25th outages and transmission planning.
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. We have also included a list of Talking Points here to help you develop your own public comment.
My name is ______. I am a resident of [parish] and I’m a residential ratepayer in the MISO footprint. MISO must plan for transmission in the South, as it has in the North. Without long-range grid planning, MISO South lags behind in preparing for the needs of a reliable grid, leading to higher costs and fewer benefits for consumers like me. Please help ensure that MISOs Long Range Transmission Planning for MISO South is not delayed further, ratepayers like me simply can’t 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: June 10 to 12
Where: Minneapolis, MN & virtually on WebEx
Register to attend virtually: www.misoenergy.org/engage/tools/calendar/#/month/06-09-2025
Please note in-person registration is now closed.
