Hearings, Meetings, Proceedings, etc.: Increasing Market and Planning Efficiency through Improved Software; Technical Conference

David Luke Oates, representing the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), provides remarks supporting the Commission's goal of improving market and planning efficiency through better software and forecasting. He highlights MISO's ongoing efforts to integrate large loads, such as data centers, through enhanced processes, collaborative data sharing, and the use of AI for short-term forecasting.

Gregory J. Poulos, Executive Director of Consumer Advocates of the PJM States, Inc. (CAPS), submits pre-conference comments regarding the importance of accurate load forecasting. He argues that precise forecasting, particularly regarding data center growth, is essential to ensure reliability and prevent consumers from overpaying for unnecessary capacity.

LineVision Inc., a grid-enhancing technology company, supports the technical conference and advocates for the widespread adoption of Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR). They argue that DLR provides a cost-effective, accurate way to unlock existing transmission capacity, improve grid reliability, and manage load growth more efficiently than traditional static or seasonal ratings.

John D. Wilson of Grid Strategies LLC provides expert testimony regarding large load forecasting practices, highlighting the need for standardized metrics, shared databases, and project maturity assessments. He supports the development of improved software and collaborative frameworks to enhance forecast accuracy and transparency across the power industry.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) supports the use of cloud-based technologies and machine learning to improve the accuracy of load forecasting for data center growth and grid reliability. They argue that these technologies enable more efficient grid planning, protect ratepayers from speculative costs, and facilitate the integration of new energy resources.

Michael Craig of Great River Energy, a non-profit generation and transmission cooperative, shares his experience using grid enhancing technologies (GETs) to improve reliability and lower costs. He supports the exploration of these technologies but emphasizes that they must be implemented thoughtfully and only where they are economically justified.

Neil P. Osnato, Founder of Persistence Analytics Group LLC, supports the Commission's efforts to improve market and planning efficiency through software but emphasizes that software must be paired with rigorous verification of underlying assumptions. He argues that planners should distinguish between announced and durable load to prevent stranded infrastructure and distorted cost allocations.

Neil P. Osnato, Founder of Persistence Analytics Group LLC and United Grid, supports the proposed action to improve market and planning efficiency through software. He argues that software should be used to distinguish between different types of demand (e.g., announced vs. persistent), track evidence for assumptions, and identify the consequences of forecast failures to ensure more reliable infrastructure planning.

Daniel C Berkowitz, an individual, supports the Commission's inquiry into transmission technologies by advocating for the use of a stochastic Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) framework. He argues that this methodology better accounts for long-term benefits, uncertainties, and life-cycle costs of advanced conductors and Grid Enhancing Technologies compared to traditional first-cost analyses.