Operations Research Ramps Up the Power Market in the Midwest (MISO)
Abstract: The Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator (MISO) is a nonprofit organization formed through the action of several electric transmission owners. The company operates in 13 states in the Midwest region of the United States and one Canadian province of Manitoba. The MISO transformed the electric utility industry leveraging advances in computing capabilities and using O.R. to create and implement complex algorithms and computer models to introduce centralized wholesale energy markets to the Midwest. These new markets increased the efficiency of the existing electric infrastructure (power plants and high-voltage transmission lines), improved the reliability of the grid and reduced the need for future infrastructure investments in the Midwest. As a result of these advances the MISO region realized between $2.1 billion and $3.0 billion in cumulative savings from 2007 through 2010, with an additional estimated value of $6.1 billion to $8.1 billion through 2020.