The Midcontinent Independent System Operator has asked federal regulators to approve a set of reliability requirements that large electricity users, including data centers, would have to meet before connecting to its grid.
MISO filed the proposal with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Aug. 28. The framework, which the grid operator calls interconnection reliability requirements, would apply ramping and ride-through specifications to new large loads and give MISO better visibility into how those loads behave once they are energized. The operator says the rules are meant to support reliable planning and to scale expectations to the level of risk each load presents.
The filing responds to show cause orders FERC issued in mid June directing major grid operators to establish criteria for adding data centers and other large loads. MISO plans to submit further proposals ahead of a Nov. 16 deadline.
Under the proposal, a large load is any load above 50 MW. A computational load is a large load that includes at least 25 MW of demand from information technology equipment such as servers, storage and networking hardware. The separate classification lets MISO direct specific requirements at data centers.
MISO told FERC that electricity demand grew about 0.5 percent a year between 2009 and 2024 and that it now expects 1 to 2 percent annual growth through 2044, with the faster rates arriving in the near term. The operator runs the grid and wholesale power markets from Louisiana to Minnesota. Similar large load rules have advanced at ERCOT in Texas and at PJM after data centers tripped offline unexpectedly.
Source: Utility Dive - https://www.utilitydive.com/news/large-load-reliability-requirements-miso-ferc/829278/