Task force examines MISO queue, LPSC certification and generation options including gas turbines and behind‑the‑meter supply

BATON ROUGE, La. — During the Sept. 12 meeting of the Task Force on Energy Infrastructure and Modernization, members and industry representatives discussed transmission constraints, the MISO generation queue and regulatory steps the state has used to accelerate authorization for new generation — particularly natural-gas combined-cycle units — while noting concerns about water access and ratepayer protections.

A task force member summarized how MISO’s queue works and the state’s use of an accelerated process. “MISO has what they call a generation queue that you have to submit a request into if you want to put generation onto the grid in the MISO footprint,” Mr. Frey said. He described an accelerated process (referred to in the meeting as ERAS/ARIS) that allows certain projects tied to customer need — for example a large data center — to move ahead in the study queue.

Mr. Frey and others said the Louisiana Public Service Commission adopted rules and a window of slots that allowed gas projects in the state to obtain earlier positions in the MISO process; those slots do not guarantee cost recovery or final certification but do put projects earlier in line for transmission studies. “Now this doesn’t bless the project. I mean, they’d still have to come in and get certified for cost recovery, but it at least says from the commission, we have been presented with this request,” Frey said.

Generation types and scale: Industry and utility representatives discussed combined-cycle gas turbines and battery storage as near-term options. One participant said Cleco recently filed a modified integrated resource plan to consider new load; another described the Washington Parish Energy Center as “probably 300 megawatts.” A participant estimated “about 30,000 megawatts available in and around the state.”

Behind-the-meter and private-supply options drew sustained attention. Randy Young, speaking from an industry perspective, described options where companies either own or lease generation or enter purchase-power arrangements so large customers are served without relying solely on the utilities. “If you open that up and you look at ways to unlock that, there’s ways to bring new generation to Louisiana that’s not only through the utilities,” Young said.

Jonathan Bruiser, who said his company owns and operates multiple behind-the-meter plants, described industry experience in other markets and argued that private generation and supply chains are part of the solution. “We own and operate, 7 behind the meter plants. We’re building an eighth now in California in regulatory markets,” Bruiser said.

Ratepayer protection and market effects were recurring concerns. Several members urged protections to prevent customers from seeing price increases if new large loads are added. “I think we do have protections built in to ensure that doesn’t happen,” Mr. Frey said in describing commission action; other members stressed that adding many large loads without careful planning could create excess generation that shifts costs to existing ratepayers.

Transmission constraints were identified as a primary technical barrier: new generation must be able to move power to load centers, and if transmission upgrades lag, projects could be delayed or infeasible. “You can’t just build a power plant and not be able to move that power,” Frey said.

What was not resolved: The task force did not adopt new regulatory rules; members agreed to continue exploring options — utility-led build, merchant generation, private transmission and purchase-power frameworks — and to weigh tradeoffs between growth and ratepayer impacts.

Ending: The meeting closed with agreement to continue study and coordination among the LPSC, MISO, the department and economic development partners.