MISO Cities and Communities Coalition (MISOCCC)

MISOCCC members work on behalf of their constituents at the forefront of energy and climate issues.

GPI’s MISO Cities and Communities Coalition (MISOCCC) is a coalition of communities across the MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator) footprint. MISOCCC coordinates collective action to further the individual goals of participating communities through engagement with MISO leadership, its staff and stakeholders, and other entities. Participating communities’ goals focus on clean energy, economic development, decarbonization, affordability, and grid reliability. MISOCCC facilitates peer-to-peer learning of its members, provides educational opportunities from industry experts, and forms partnerships and collaborations with similarly aligned interests.

Helping Cities Achieve Their Climate Goals

Cities and other local government units are large energy buyers and representatives of their constituents’ interests. They are national leaders on clean energy targets and climate goals and are potential hosts for clean energy development.

At the same time, decisions made by MISO and its member utilities on transmission planning and wholesale market rules significantly impact MISO communities. Such decisions directly affect electricity costs and emissions for MISO communities and indirectly affect communities’ ability to invest in local clean energy developments. As such, participation in MISO stakeholder processes enhances a community’s ability to maximize the value of clean energy deployment and its ability to meet its clean energy and/or decarbonization targets.

Through engagement with MISO, other federal agencies (e.g., the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), utilities, and other stakeholders, MISOCCC seeks to enhance grid reliability and resilience, further an equitable deployment of and access to clean energy resources and transmission infrastructure, and support regional decarbonization efforts. Through MISOCCC, communities can elevate the importance of local policies and goals within regional electricity market and transmission planning processes. The outcomes of those processes directly affect members’ ability to achieve their individual and collective goals.

Join Now!

MISOCCC is open to any city government, county government, Native nation, regional planning commission, or other locally focused governing body in the MISO territory.

News

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STATEMENT: MISOCCC Celebrates Consequential FERC Rule

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Local actions for regional impact!

  • Ensure local governments equitably participate in key decision-making processes along with other MISO stakeholders, groups, and interests who have not historically been engaged in the MISO stakeholder process
  • Further an equitable energy system in our communities
  • Focus on maintaining access, transparency, and accountability in MISO governance and operations
  • Expand deployment of and access to low-carbon energy resources and transmission grid infrastructure
  • Enhance the ability of local governments and their community partners to participate in MISO’s markets, including via aggregated local distributed energy resource deployment
  • Enhance grid reliability and resilience
  • Maximize the value of new clean energy technologies for consumers, including but not limited to energy storage

Webinars

Transmission Planning 101: How It Works and Why It Matters to Local Governments

Learn what the transmission grid is, how it’s planned, how it affects community-wide energy and decarbonization goals, and what local governments can do to get involved.

Speakers: Matt Prorok (Great Plains Institute), Jennie Chen (World Resources Institute), and Gretchen Kershaw (Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy)

MISO Long Range Transmission Planning (LRTP): What It Means for Communities

In 2022, MISO announced 18 Midwest transmission projects to plan for the growth of solar, wind, storage, and hybrid resources. Learn what went into MISO’s LRTP initiative, its impact on local energy goals and plans, and the opportunities to engage with upcoming projects and future planning efforts.

Speakers: Matt Prorok (Great Plains Institute), Randy Satterfield (Energy Foundation), and BridgetWilliams (Great Plains Institute)

Resources

Below are some introductory resources to familiarize yourself with MISO, its role in the energy system, and the relationship between MISO and local governments.

MISO 101: Intro to MISO

This primer is the first in a series of publications intended to provide readers with a basic understanding of MISO (Midcontinent Independent System Operator). This series covers a variety of topics fundamental to understanding MISO’s role in our energy system, including—but not limited to—transmission planning, reliability coordination, and the wholesale electricity market. This series aims to inform policy practitioners who wish to better understand and engage with energy policy and grid issues in the Midcontinent region.

Download intro to MISO Part 1

MISO 101: Grid Basics

This second primer in the series introduces the US electric grid including changes to generation and load. It further describes recent changes such as power plant retirements and the growth of intermittent renewable resources and how grid planners and operators are developing new systems, processes, and metrics to ensure that the grid stays reliable. Grid reliability needs generally fall into three broad categories: resource adequacy, energy adequacy, and grid stability.

Download intro to MISO Part 2

MISOCCC Mission and scope

Learn more about MISOCCC’s mission and scope in this charter.

Download the MISOCCC Mission and Scope Document

MISO 101: Regulatory Overview

The third primer in the series provides a history and regulatory overview of regional transmission organizations such as MISO.

Download intro to MISO Part 3

Testimonial

I really value the collaborative learning and advocacy opportunity with my intergovernmental peers across the MISO region made possible by MISOCCC. Meeting monthly with this group has helped me understand how MISO’s policy decisions impact our ability to meet our local energy affordability and climate goals. And, most important, the technical support from the GPI/WRI team helps us participate in MISO’s comment opportunities and advocate for our shared public interest.

Stacy Miller

City of Minneapolis Sustainability Program Coordinator
It’s easy (and free) to join!

MISO CCC is open to all local governments and community representatives within the MISO footprint, and there’s no fee to join. Interested in seeing what we’re all about? Contact us to join one of our monthly calls or to set up a one-on-one call for more information.

 

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