The System Planning Committee of MISO's board of directors has endorsed the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan 2011 (MTEP11), a comprehensive long-term regional plan that recommends US$6.5 billion in electric grid infrastructure investments that will enable the delivery of least-cost energy to consumers.

MTEP11 recommends 215 new projects, including 16 Multi-Value Projects (MVPs) that provide broad regional benefits commensurate with costs and support state and federal energy policy objectives approved in the MISO region. The System Planning Committee began reviewing MTEP11 and MVPs in August after MISO and its stakeholders spent more than year analyzing the projects included in the report.

MTEP11 will go before MISO's full board of directors for consideration at its Dec. 8 meeting. Final board approval would require MISO's transmission owners to follow due diligence to construct the facilities approved in the plan.

The 2011 MVP Portfolio is estimated to deliver between 1.8 to 3 times more benefits than costs. For the average residential customer, that translates to about an investment of about $11 a year in order to receive the annual benefit of $23 in lowered energy costs — a 109% return on investment.

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