Legalectric

Step by step, MISO is slogging through the Variance Analysis for the Northland Reliability Project as set out in MISO Tariff FF (P. 182-193). This just came through the wire, it’s BIG, but interesting tidbits:

Much of this process is confidential, don’t know if it matters at this point. The parts I care about are the cost questions, and the responses may well be confidential. We’ll see.

Generally, there’s this:

And the specifics are what needs to be produced, p. 6-16 of the first document, above:

I don’t/can’t do math, have grey mush in that part of my brain, but if I think on this a bit, and scan through the 347 pages, the trajectory will become clear!

For your reading enjoyment, here’s the part of MISO’s Tariff FF that covers the Variance Analysis process:

It’s all connected — and here’s the eastern part of the 765kV line across Minnesota, from South Dakota headed east across the Mississippi into Wisconsin — the western web comments were due Monday:

Reply Comments filed – SW MN 765kV lines March 3rd, 2026

Today’s inbasket had good news for us on the eastern end, where they want to follow a 161kV line across SE Minnesota’s Driftless region — the good news is that “Gopher to Badger” backed off of its asinine “informal process” and:

Applicants request that the Commission stay the Certificate of Need Application and process it jointly with the Route Permit Application, which Applicants intend to submit this fall.

Informal process?!?!?! How stupid do they think we are?

Good, they’re being reasonable. Did they really think they could get away with “informal process” that does not exist?

Anyway, Reply Comments were due Wednesday and here is ours, NRG and NO765MN:

The Maple River-Cuyuna 345kV transmission line, that’s the orange one on this map above.

First the Initial Comments:

And then Reply Comments:

Applicants’ filed their Reply Comments:

And we filed the Andersen Comments:

And that’s it!

So on to tomorrow’s Reply Comments on the Gopher-Badger 765kV transmission line!

Underground transmission is the topic of the week, month, well, maybe year. Underground transmission has been approved in Iowa – the Soo Green transmission project was approved back in 2023. It’s a DC line to be routed along railroad tracks! An underground DC project was “approved” by PJM from the Heritage substation to the Mosby substation, both in Virginia, though it’ll need state approval, PJM, like MISO, is NOT the decider, they are NOT the regulators.

Rather an opposite situation in Maryland, where there’s an underground transmission project proposed, and it turns out that in Maryland, the Public Service Commission doesn’t have regulatory authority over underground projects, only above ground!

Support grows to stiffen state oversight of underground power lines

This jurisdictional issue is slogging its way through the Maryland legislature.

Locally, there are objections to that project, mapped out above, and below, because it’s going through a historical district. What would be their take on an above ground transmission line on that route?

Here’s the PJM report of the Sub Regional RTEP Committee – Mid-Atlantic from way back in 2016, they’re still trying to figure this out:

And this: