Todd Hillman, 47, joined Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. in 2004 and is now VP of the company’s south region. Before coming to MISO, Hillman worked at Reliant Energy and DuPont/Conoco. MISO is a nonprofit regional transmission organization that manages high-voltage power lines in 15 states, extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes.
Hillman graduated with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He graduated from the Executive Institute of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
MISO took over the electricity transmission of Entergy Corp. in Arkansas in 2011.
What exactly is MISO and what do you do?
We are like air-traffic control for the high-voltage transmission system. Our operators make sure there is enough electricity (airplanes) to satisfy the needs of every customer in our footprint and that there is adequate “clearance” on the power lines for electricity to get to its destination as efficiently as possible.
What has the Entergy contract meant for MISO?
MISO provides benefits in a number of complicated ways that are described in our value proposition. One of the not-so-complicated ways is through economies of scale. When Entergy joined, it lowered the overall administrative costs for all MISO members. Entergy also brought with it a great deal of fuel diversity, which gives our operators more electricity resources from which to choose. This ability to select the lowest cost generators throughout the day creates real dollar savings for utility customers.
What have the benefits been for Arkansas customers?
The benefits have been huge for Entergy customers in Arkansas and across the South. Entergy announced that by joining MISO it was able to put $46 million back into the hands of its customers in Arkansas. Our ability to work together with our stakeholders in Arkansas enables us to construct more transmission lines and to utilize the available generation as efficiently as possible. Add to that the ability to foster economic development, helping to bring more jobs and development opportunities to Arkansas.
There has been a lot of analysis and re-analysis of what the Clean Power Plan will mean to the energy industry. What is MISO’s opinion of its impact?
The energy landscape is changing with or without the Clean Power Plan. Ten years ago, we had less than 3,000 megawatts of wind generation in our footprint; today we have more than 15,000 MWs of wind. Looking back, it’s hard to say we didn’t see this coming, but the truth is we had no idea it was going to happen so fast. Lesson learned!
As a regional transmission organization, it’s our job to help our members prepare for changes just like this. Today we rigorously study the potential impacts of a variety of scenarios, and we collaborate with our members to put our analyses into perspective. Our stakeholder process gives us access to the industry’s smartest people. Their diverse views are necessary to ensure the most reliable, value-added outcome, regardless of the scenario.
How does MISO’s system operate more efficiently?
It’s our access to lowest cost electricity resources and conservative use of the transmission system that allow us to operate as efficiently as possible. Because the MISO footprint covers areas north of the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf, we can take advantage of the drastic temperature difference in the summers and winters. When folks up North are turning up their thermostats, folks in the South are turning them down. This allows us to use less expensive gas-generated electricity from the South to help serve customer demand in the North. In summer, we use lower cost wind electricity produced up North to help cool the South.
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