The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved MISO’s Expedited Resource Addition Study proposal, "a temporary and targeted solution designed to bring urgently needed generation resources online quickly amid unprecedented load growth and increasing reliability challenges," MISO said on July 22.
"ERAS is an important step toward ensuring near-term reliability and support economic development, while we continue strengthening the long-term interconnection process," said John Bear, MISO’s President and CEO. "This temporary mechanism allows us to address urgent needs while preserving state authority for resource adequacy and maintaining transparency and fairness."
Key Features of the Approved ERAS Process are:
• Targeted Scope and Duration: ERAS will sunset by August 31, 2027. A total of no more than 68 projects will be processed, with a maximum of 10 projects studied per quarter.
• Clear Resource Adequacy Connection: Each project must address a specific load addition or resource adequacy deficiency and be commercially operable within three to six years of the ERAS submission. Interconnection service is capped at 150% of the identified need and limited to the same Local Resource Zone.
• Near-Term Need Verification: The Relevant Electric Retail Rate Authority (RERRA) must verify the resource adequacy or reliability need for each project.
“FERC’s approval affirms MISO’s collaborative efforts with stakeholders and regulators to address near-term resource adequacy needs while broader reforms to the generator interconnection process are implemented,” added Aubrey Johnson, MISO’s vice president of system planning and competitive transmission.
MISO will accept ERAS interconnection requests between August 6-11, 2025, and will be studied on a first-come, first-served basis. The first quarterly study will begin on September 2.
The full schedule of application cycles and deadlines, the ERAS informational guide, and the online application tool can be accessed on MISO’s website.
