Interconnection queue guide · MISO

MISO interconnection queue

How the Definitive Planning Phase, the regional queue cap and the expedited ERAS track work, and what the public record shows for MISO requests.

GridVision AI ResearchPublished September 17, 2026Updated September 17, 2026

MISO at a glance

Process: The Definitive Planning Phase (DPP): cluster studies in three phases, each followed by a decision point. MISO notes that Order No. 2023 requires annual cluster studies.
Study timing: MISO targets about 355 calendar days for the DPP system impact and facilities studies (Phase 1 about 140 days, Phase 2 about 80, Phase 3 about 135), then about 150 days for the interconnection agreement.
DPP 2026 cycle: Application deadline September 10, 2026, with study kick-off scheduled for December 9, 2026. The application fee (D1) is $7,600.
Queue cap: From the 2025 DPP cycle, new requests are capped at 50% of each study region's non-coincident peak load, with exemptions for replacing retiring units, ERIS-to-NRIS conversions and provisional agreements. FERC accepted the cap on January 30, 2025.
Cap reached: As of MISO's June 9, 2026 working group meeting, the East (ITC) regional cap had been met.
Expedited Resource Addition Study (ERAS): FERC upheld its acceptance of ERAS on January 22, 2026. ERAS Cycle 4 covers six projects, all from load-serving entities, and launched on June 1, 2026.

Sources: MISO, Generator Interconnection Studies; MISO Interconnection Process Working Group, minutes of June 9, 2026; MISO, Generator Interconnection Queue Cap FAQ; FERC order accepting MISO's interconnection queue cap, 190 FERC ¶ 61,057, January 30, 2025; FERC, Summaries of the January 2026 Commission Meeting.

Facts checked September 17, 2026.

How the MISO process works

MISO's generator interconnection studies follow this sequence:

01ApplicationSubmit the request, fees and milestone payment by the cycle's application deadline.
02Application review15 business days for MISO to flag deficiencies, 10 business days to cure them, then a scoping meeting.
03Phase 1: preliminary system impact studyAbout 140 days, then Decision Point 1.
04Phase 2: revised system impact study and interconnection facilities studyAbout 80 days, then Decision Point 2.
05Phase 3: final system impact study and network upgrade facilities studyAbout 135 days.
06Interconnection agreementAbout 150 days to tender and execute the agreement.

Durations are MISO's estimates. MISO's 2026 working group plan also lists a queue cycle restudy process and Order No. 2023 penalties as open work. The tariff and business practice manuals govern any live project.

Sources: MISO, Generator Interconnection Studies.

What the public record shows at MISO points of interconnection

Across the 2 MISO points of interconnection GridVision has published so far, the Berkeley Lab dataset records 19 interconnection requests filed between 2017 and 2025.

Outcomes of interconnection requests at the published MISO points of interconnection
Outcome	Requests	Capacity (MW)
Reached commercial operation	4	800
Withdrew	9	3,295
Still active	6	1,860
Total	19	5,955

For the requests that were built, the median time from request to commercial operation was 4.6 years. For those that withdrew, the median time from request to withdrawal was 1.4 years.

These 2 nodes are not a random sample of MISO, and a pattern at one point of interconnection does not transfer to another. The dataset records what happened, not why.

Published MISO point-of-interconnection retrospectives
Point of interconnection	State	Requests	Built	Withdrawn	Active
Sheridan EHV - El Dorado EHV 500 kV	Arkansas	10	0	7	3
Reynolds 345 kV Substation	Indiana	9	4	2	3

Market-wide: MISO interconnection queue outcomes by year filed.

Questions to answer before advancing a MISO queue position

Does your study region still have room under the queue cap for this cycle, and what is the plan if it does not?
Which Phase 1 or Phase 2 results does your cost exposure rest on, and which depend on requests that could still withdraw?
What is at risk if you continue past the next decision point, and what is refunded or forfeited if you withdraw?
Which unknowns could change the answer, who owns each one, and when will it be resolved?

Weighing whether to advance a MISO queue position?

Bring the decision, and get back a management-ready decision record: what is verified, what is assumed, what is still unknown, and what to do next.

Bring One Live Decision

Sources

Facts checked September 17, 2026. Process rules and queue data change; the governing tariff, manuals and study documents control any live project.