Results released April 13 for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc.'s fifth annual Planning Resource Auction showed sharply lower clearing prices in most zones on the year. For the 2017-2018 planning year auction in the Midwest, which covers the period from June 1, 2017, to May 31, 2018, prices in all zones cleared at $1.50/MW-day, down about 93% in Zone 1 and nearly 98% in Zones 2-7 on the year.

In the previous auction for the 2016-2017 planning year, Zone 1 cleared at $19.72/MW-day, Zones 2-7 cleared at $72.00/MW-day and Zones 8-10, including MISO South, cleared at $2.99/MW-day.

MISO said this year's auction results reflect new supply and lower load forecasts in the north and central MISO regions.

"The 2017-18 auction results reflect a net regional increase in supply compared to last year's results," Richard Doying, executive vice president of operations at MISO, said in an April 13 news release. "Even as the generation fleet continues to evolve, the level of available resources positions the region well for reliable operations in the coming year."

In the 2016-2017 auction, retirements and capacity exports contributed to higher clearing prices in several zones.

Doying also noted that cleared offers in this year's auction include increased demand resources and energy efficiency from the prior year, as well as increases in renewable resources of both wind and solar. Results of the auction, which were reviewed and certified by MISO's Independent Market Monitor, include almost 135,000 MW of planning resources to meet forecast demand and necessary reserves for the 2017-2018 planning year.

Ahead of the auction, most analysts had called for softer prices of about $10/MW-day to $20/MW-day for unconstrained regions and even higher prices for certain constrained zones, such as Zones 4 (Illinois) and 7 (Michigan).

The voluntary auction is part of MISO's resource adequacy process, which also allows participants to self-supply to meet the required reserve margin. The annual auction sets the price paid to power plant owners that agree to have their generators available when called upon at peak times. MISO's resource adequacy construct combines regional and local criteria to achieve a least-cost solution for the region as a whole and ensure each local zone has sufficient resources within their boundaries to meet their own needs.

MISO will hold a media conference call at 11:30 a.m. ET on April 14 to discuss the results of the latest auction in greater detail.

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