Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc

MONITOR AND CONTROL ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION SYSTEM TO PROVIDE NON-DISCRIMINATORY OPEN-ACCESS TO ALL CUSTOMERS AND ENSURE SAFE, RELIABLE, AND EFFICIENT OPERATION FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL CUSTOMERS.

ON DECEMBER 19, 2001, MIDCONTINENT INDEPENDENT SYSTEM OPERATOR, INC. (MISO OR THE COMPANY) BECAME THE NATION'S FIRST REGIONAL TRANSMISSION ORGANIZATION (RTO) APPROVED BY THE FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (THE FERC). AS AN RTO, MISO PROVIDES TRANSMISSION SERVICE ON BEHALF OF ITS MEMBERS WHO OWN TRANSMISSION ASSETS. IN ADDITION, MISO IS A NORTH AMERICAN ELECTRIC RELIABILITY CORPORATION (NERC) CERTIFIED RELIABILITY COORDINATOR. IN THAT CAPACITY, MISO MONITORS THE FLOW OF ELECTRICITY OVER THE TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS OF ITS MEMBERS WHO OWN TRANSMISSION ASSETS. MISO WAS INCORPORATED AS A DELAWARE NON-STOCK, NONPROFIT CORPORATION IN MARCH 1998. THE COMPANY IS GOVERNED BY AN INDEPENDENT BOARD OF DIRECTORS. MEMBERSHIP IN MISO IS OPEN TO OWNERS OF ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION FACILITIES AS WELL AS OTHER PARTICIPANTS IN THE ELECTRIC ENERGY MARKET. FIFTY TRANSMISSION OWNERS WITH MORE THAN 71,800 MILES OF TRANSMISSION LINES, 191,000 MEGAWATTS OF ELECTRIC GENERATION, AND APPROXIMATELY $37.9 BILLION IN INSTALLED GROSS TRANSMISSION ASSETS ARE CURRENTLY PARTICIPATING IN MISO. ON DECEMBER 15, 2001, THE COMPANY BEGAN PROVIDING RELIABILITY COORDINATION SERVICES TO THE TRANSMISSION-OWNING MEMBERS OF MISO AND THEIR CUSTOMERS. ON THE SAME DATE, MISO ALSO BEGAN PROVIDING OPERATIONS PLANNING, GENERATION INTERCONNECTION, MAINTENANCE COORDINATION, LONG-TERM REGIONAL PLANNING, MARKET MONITORING, AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION SERVICES. THE COMPANY COMMENCED SUBSTANTIALLY ALL OPERATIONS ON FEBRUARY 1, 2002, THE DATE MISO BEGAN PROVIDING REGIONAL TRANSMISSION SERVICE UNDER ITS FERC-ACCEPTED OPEN ACCESS TRANSMISSION AND ENERGY MARKETS TARIFF (THE TARIFF). ON APRIL 1, 2005, MISO FORMALLY BEGAN OPERATING ITS MARKET-BASED CONGESTION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WHICH FEATURES THE FOLLOWING: - DAY-AHEAD ENERGY MARKET - REAL-TIME ENERGY MARKET - FINANCIAL TRANSMISSION RIGHTS (FTR) MARKET THE DAY-AHEAD AND REAL-TIME ENERGY MARKETS ARE DESIGNED TO RELIABLY MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF ALL GENERATION AND TRANSMISSION RESOURCES WITHIN THE REGION BASED ON BIDS AND OFFERS SUBMITTED BY MARKET PARTICIPANTS. THE DAY-AHEAD AND REAL-TIME ENERGY MARKETS PRICE TRANSMISSION SYSTEM CONGESTION THROUGH THE USE OF LOCATIONAL MARGINAL PRICING (LMP) ALGORITHMS. THE FINANCIAL TRANSMISSION RIGHTS MARKET PROVIDES A MEANS OF HEDGING LMP-BASED CONGESTION COSTS. ON JANUARY 6, 2009, MISO BEGAN OPERATING A MARKET FOR ANCILLARY SERVICES. THE ANCILLARY SERVICES MARKET INTEGRATES THE PROCUREMENT AND USE OF REGULATION AND CONTINGENCY RESERVES WITH THE EXISTING REAL-TIME ENERGY MARKET. MISO ALSO BECAME AN NERC-CERTIFIED BALANCING AUTHORITY ON JANUARY 6, 2009.