Three Midwestern electric utilities — Ameren Corp. (St. Louis, Missouri), FirstEnergy Corp. (Akron, Ohio) and Northern Indiana Public Service Co. (NIPSCO, Merrillville, Indiana) — along with National Grid USA (Westborough, Massachusetts) filed a proposal to join the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator Inc. (MISO, Carmel, Indiana).

The three utilities also signed a letter of intent with National Grid USA outlining how its will manage the independent transmission company, GridAmerica LLC.

MISO filed arrangements with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 20. Pending FERC approval of a definitive agreement, National Grid will serve as the managing member of GridAmerica and will manage the transmission assets of the three utilities and participate in MISO on behalf of GridAmerica.

The FERC determined National Grid USA is qualified as a nonmarket participant to be a managing member within MISO. With the approval of GridAmerica and the terms under which these utilities will join MISO, National Grid will assume responsibility for the start-up and operation of GridAmerica.

The terms of the MISO membership and the establishment of GridAmerica provide the following provisions:

• An operation agreement outlining how GridAmerica would exercise functional control — consistent with recent FERC orders — over the transmission facilities of transmission owners.

• An LLC agreement describing the business structure under which GridAmerica, under the authority of MISO, would be formed and operated.
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