The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator has announced the integration of Wisconsin-based Dairyland Power Cooperative. Dairyland will add more than 1300 MW of capacity to the Midwest ISO footprint.

"The Midwest ISO is excited and honored to welcome Dairyland Power Cooperative as a transmission owning member," said John Bear, president and CEO of the Midwest ISO. "The addition of Dairyland will increase reliability of the electric grid and the efficiency of the Midwest energy market."

Today's integration changes the geographic outline of the Midwest ISO balancing authority. Dairyland's integration into the Midwest ISO reduces the number of tie lines by more than 200 lines and creates greater visibility of system conditions for operators. Because Dairyland's service territory is uniquely situated among Midwest ISO members in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin, coordination will be simplified, thereby increasing the efficient delivery of power throughout the region. Additionally, the Dairyland integration brings increased renewable sources of energy, including approximately 37 MW of wind and 24 MW of hydropower energy.

Chuck Callies, vice president of Power Delivery at Dairyland Power Cooperative, notes, "In addition to the cost savings associated with using the Midwest ISO for contingency reserves, Dairyland expects efficiency improvements as a result of employing consistent congestion management procedures with neighboring systems and facilities."

As a new transmission-owning member, Dairyland will receive benefits from access to the Midwest ISO's Energy Markets, including its wholesale and Ancillary Services Markets. Access to these markets benefit regional grid reliability by providing flexibility to address unexpected loss of generation or transmission reliably and effectively. This ultimately results in reduced costs for Midwest ISO members.

"The addition of Dairyland helps the Midwest ISO regionally manage the system now and plan for system needs in the future," said Clair Moeller, vice president of transmission asset management for the Midwest ISO. "The added capacity helps us to continue operating reliably and will allow us to more efficiently plan and locate future generation, transmission and equipment upgrades across the Midwest."

Prior to June 1, Dairyland received reliability coordination services from the Midwest ISO. Dairyland marks the fourth new member to integrate into Midwest ISO since Sept. 1, 2009, joining MidAmerican Energy Co., Muscatine Power and Water and the Municipal Electric utility of the city of Cedar Falls, Iowa. The four new members have increased the region's generating capacity by more than 8800 MW.