 Our region's population and economic opportunities are growing year by year-fueled by dependable,
affordable electrical power. Electricity keeps our region
humming-everything from the smart phone in your pocket to the lights
in your grocery store to the motors of our manufacturing plants.
That's why Entergy has kept a significant focus on creating
reliable, affordable future-power for nearly a century.
Entergy and its utility operating companies now propose another important step into the future: joining a regional transmission
organization, the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, or MISO. |
Why an RTO? Why now?
An RTO manages the dispatch of generation and transmission of electricity over a wide area. Weather, maintenance schedules, generating costs and other factors create a complex daily interplay between electricity supply and demand. Electric power can't be stored; it must be made as it is used. Several RTOs, including MISO, have developed regional markets to allow them to more effectively manage supply, demand and cost of production while maintaining reliability. An RTO brings together numerous buyers and sellers of electricity into a centrally managed, organized market, resulting in greater efficiency.
Entergy has carefully analyzed the options and the data is clear: at this time the best option for Entergy and its customers is joining MISO - one of the largest RTOs in the U.S. with well-established, organized markets.
Why MISO?
 Entergy's analysis considered three competing options. After extensive modeling by independent consultants as well as by internal analysts, Entergy selected MISO as the option that will provide the greatest value to its customers while maintaining strong reliability. MISO became one of America's first RTOs in 2001. When Entergy joins MISO, it will gain access to an extensive and efficient marketplace spanning 13 states, from the Gulf Coast to the Canadian border. MISO is known as a world-class grid operator that will ensure the continued delivery of power to Entergy's customers. That's reliable. |
Projected savings up to $1.4 billion
 A key factor in Entergy's recommendation to join MISO is its established, efficient Day 2 Market, which is projected to save customers up to $1.4 billion in net savings over the first 10 years. In a Day 2 Market, electricity buyers and sellers submit needs and offers for the next day's production, and the RTO matches supply and demand in the most cost-efficient manner. Between 2007 and 2010, customers in the MISO footprint benefitted from between $2.1 billion and $3 billion in cumulative savings, according to INFORMS, a third-party analyst. Further, the costs for future transmission construction will be allocated primarily to the entities that will benefit from those projects.
Because such costs are reflected in Entergy's rates, this is an important protection for customers. And because many of the administrative and operating costs of an RTO do not increase proportionately with size, spreading these costs over a larger base of users reduces the average unit cost. MISO's large base makes these benefits substantial. That's responsible. |
Planning for the future
For Entergy customers, MISO's large and diverse portfolio of generating plants of coal, nuclear, natural gas and renewable generation create a perfect complement to Entergy's fleet that lowers the risk of overdependence on any one type of fuel.
Additionally, the large and diverse pool of generators participating in MISO's Day 2 Market enables a more efficient commitment and dispatch of resources. The result is both greater flexibility and reduced costs of electricity. That's resourceful. |
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