Months after Winter Storm Fern put Indiana in a deep freeze, Hoosier Energy and its member cooperatives are still warming to the lessons learned.<\/p>\n
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On January 24, 2026, a Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) Maximum Generation Emergency event occurred, a rare event for all involved. This included calling on Load Modifying Resources (LMRs) and even public appeals to conserve energy.<\/p>\n
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\u201cEffectively, there were a lot of lessons learned from the event,\u201d said Brian Hayes, Hoosier Energy\u2019s NERC Compliance Manager. \u201cWe followed our procedures and we followed FERC requirements, so we could check those boxes. We did what we were supposed to do and mitigated risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
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However, it was not an entirely smooth ride, which led to changes for both MISO and Hoosier Energy.<\/p>\n
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Emergency Capacity procedures were adjusted by MISO, including eliminating the pre-event alert. Also, the previous five steps (including nine sub-steps) were reduced to three. This was done, in part, to better align with FERC procedures.<\/p>\n
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But the changes indicate a different overall approach. Where each step previously had a specific consequence, now each step gives MISO options, or what Hayes calls an \u201ca la carte\u201d approach.<\/p>\n
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\u201cNow MISO can say, \u2018We\u2019re in Step 2, and here\u2019s the levers we\u2019re pulling.\u2019 It might be just some of them, might be all of them,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cFrom their perspective and Hoosier\u2019s perspective, that\u2019s hugely different.\u201d<\/p>\n
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MISO wasn\u2019t the only one making changes. Hoosier Energy\u2019s capacity emergency portal also had to adjust.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe revamped our whole software,\u201d Hayes said. “Our software had to rewrite logic and code to balance the whole thing, but we also couldn\u2019t work too far ahead as we were waiting on MISO to finalize their changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
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In the meantime, a test site was built to start deploying the anticipated changes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019ve never done that before,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cIn the past, all the changes were reasonably minimal.\u201d<\/p>\n
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MISO issued its changes in May with feedback due by May 28 with the new procedures going live on June 1.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe had to revise procedures and demonstrate we\u2019ll follow along,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cFortunately, we were able to get our operating procedures to align with theirs.\u201d<\/p>\n
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One of the other key areas for those procedures to align was with public appeals for conservation. During the Winter Storm Fern emergency event, there were some inconsistencies within that realm. The new format should make those efforts more clearly consistent.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHoosier did what we were supposed to do and issued public appeals for energy conservation as initially directed by MISO,\u201d said Hoosier Energy Vice President of Strategic Communications Chad Mertz. \u201cFollow-up instructions from MISO were inconsistent and not aligned with previously discussed procedures, which created confusion amongst utilities. Some issued the public appeals and others did not.\u201d<\/p>\n
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During the recent Summer Reliability Forum hosted by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, MISO leadership acknowledged the inconsistencies and resulting confusion.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe new process for public appeals is a standalone action called by MISO, which should help to eliminate confusion amongst the utilities,\u201d said Mertz.<\/p>\n
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Overall, many of the changes made won\u2019t be readily apparent.<\/p>\n
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\u201cMembers won\u2019t feel a ton of change,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cSteps are different, but the communication will feel the same despite different timing and a different sequence.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Months after Winter Storm Fern put Indiana in a deep freeze, Hoosier Energy and its member cooperatives are still warming to the lessons learned. On January 24, 2026, a"},"author":1,"featured_media":7806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spotlight-stories","category-18","description-off"],"acf":false,"yoast_head":"\n