Representing the MISO Transmission Owners, we are currently defending against two complaints brought by various groups seeking to substantially reduce the return on equity for transmission investment. Customer groups, state regulatory commissions, state consumer advocates, retail customer groups and even the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) internal trial staff have lined up against the MISO Transmission Owners seeking massive reductions to their authorized equity returns and threatening ongoing efforts to develop and enhance the MISO transmission system.
Defending the MISO Transmission Owners in hearings in two ongoing complaint proceedings, the hearing on the first complaint occurred in August 2015 with an Initial Decision from the Administrative Law Judge issued in December 2015, which FERC affirmed in September 2016. The Initial Decision called for a substantially smaller reduction in our clients’ return on equity than was advocated by the complainants, all intervenors and the FERC trial staff. An Administrative Law Judge convened a hearing on a second complaint in February 2016. We continue to aggressively represent our client’s interests in these and anticipated future complaint proceedings. The goal is to maintain an adequate base return on equity that would enable our clients to attract the investment capital necessary to continue expanding and improving the MISO regional transmission grid, a critically important component of the national transmission system that spans the midsection of the United States from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico and stands at the forefront of a region of vast renewable energy development potential.
