FERC approves MISO cost recovery plan for transmission projects built in PJM

Federal regulators have signed off on a plan letting the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), a grid operator covering much of the Midwest, pay for new power lines that will actually be built next door, in the PJM Interconnection region that covers much of the mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the arrangement on Aug. 14, 2026. Under the plan, Commonwealth Edison, an Exelon utility, will build about $904 million worth of these lines, and Duke Energy's Ohio utility will build $5.3 million worth. Regulators also rejected arguments that these projects should have gone through a competitive bidding process first.

This is part of a larger buildout MISO approved in December 2024: a plan for major new high-voltage transmission lines across its territory, meant to move power more reliably between regions. Because some of that planned infrastructure crosses into PJM's footprint, this ruling settles who builds it and how the costs get recovered.

For homeowners, this is background infrastructure news rather than something with an immediate effect on your bills or your house. Transmission costs like these typically get folded into utility rates over time, but the article does not spell out how or when that might show up on customer bills. If you live in the Exelon (ComEd) or Duke Energy Ohio service areas, this is the kind of project that could eventually factor into future rate cases, but there is nothing here requiring or suggesting any action on your part right now.