-- The Midcontinent Independent System Operator said Tuesday that it concluded its 2026 Planning Resource Auction with enough generation capacity to meet reliability requirements for the upcoming June 2026-May 2027 planning year.
Total capacity offers increased by 4% across all seasons, allowing the system to clear 3.5% above the 7.9% summer reserve margin target, it said.
While overall reliability is maintained, summer clearing prices reached as high as $424.30/MW-day in northern and central zones, reflecting a narrowing gap between accelerating load growth and available resource supply, as per the statement.
The auction utilized a Reliability Based Demand Curve for the second year, resulting in diversified seasonal pricing. Fall and Winter cleared at $33.92/MW-day and $35.97/MW-day respectively, while Spring prices dropped to $7.61/MW-day, it stated.
Officials noted that while new resources are coming online quickly, the price volatility in the summer peak highlights ongoing risks as demand continues to rise across MISO's 15-state footprint.
Final consumer impacts will vary based on how individual Load Serving Entities balanced self-supply against auction purchases, it added.