7th Circuit Upholds Regional Cost Allocation For MISO Transmission Projects

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently upheld MISO's FERC-approved multi-value project (MVP) tariff,¹ which spreads the costs of constructing certain new transmission lines across the entire MISO footprint based on members' total energy consumption rather than peak demand.² These MVPs are primarily built to move electricity generated by rural wind farms to urban centers, which MISO states will pay for itself through lower costs and increased reliability. The court ruled that MISO's cost/benefit analysis supporting the MVP concept was sufficient and suggested that states like Michigan cannot constitutionally restrict renewable portfolio compliance to in-state generation.