Dairyland Power Cooperative Announces Intent to Join Midwest ISO

Sep 22, 2009 11:19 PM
Midwest ISO

Dairyland Power Cooperative and the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator have announced Dairyland’s intention to fully integrate into the Midwest ISO as a transmission-owning member on June 1, 2010. Dairyland currently receives reliability coordination services from the Midwest ISO.

Dairyland will integrate its 3,144-mile transmission system into the Midwest ISO, allowing the La Crosse, Wisconsin-based power cooperative to access one of the largest markets in the world for buying and selling power. Dairyland will also participate in the Midwest ISO’s ancillary services market, which will benefit regional grid reliability by providing flexibility in addressing unexpected loss of generation and transmission. The Midwest ISO’s markets’ independence allows the most cost-effective and reliable source of generation to be matched with power needs.

"Dairyland recognizes that with recent regional changes and the increased efficiencies resulting from the Midwest ISO’s Ancillary Services Market, membership in the Midwest ISO provides the most cost-effective solution for Dairyland and our member cooperatives at this time," said Chuck Callies, Dairyland Vice President, Power Delivery.

"The addition of Dairyland into the Midwest ISO’s market operations provides the region and our members with greater efficiencies in regional planning, congestion management and market services," said Clair Moeller, Vice President of Transmission Asset Management. "Because Dairyland’s service territory is uniquely situated between our members in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, a significant congestion management seam will be eliminated allowing the most economical generation to serve Dairyland and existing Midwest ISO member load."

Dairyland will also benefit from Midwest ISO’s regional planning efforts that identify the most effective locations and means for upgrades in generation, transmission and equipment. In addition, the Midwest ISO’s long-term transmission expansion planning is expected to provide savings and cost reduction of approximately $1 billion annually by 2013. The Midwest ISO’s independence and stakeholder process ensures that transmission system improvement recommendations are made solely to support power reliability and a strong market.

The addition of Dairyland Power Cooperative incorporates approximately 1,450 megawatts of generating capacity into the Midwest ISO’s footprint. Dairyland’s historic peak load is 887 megawatts.

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