The Organization of MISO States (OMS) and the Midcontinent ISO (MISO) recently highlighted that states and utilities across the region are planning to add record-level additions of resources over the next five years.

In a joint 2026 survey, the two non-profit entities report that utilities expect to add an average of 15 GW of new accredited summer capacity each year, leading up to 2031. They explain that this pace will help the region’s growing power needs as demand continues to rise.

Across the MISO region, the regional transmission organization states that load addition requests indicate a five-year compound annual growth rate of 3.1% to 5.1%. Among the largest planned additions was natural gas generation, the groups said, with solar, wind and battery storage also expecting strong growth.

About 4 GW annually of this anticipated additional capacity will move through MISO’s Expedited Resource Adequacy Study (ERAS) to fast-track the grid interconnection process. This represents a concerted effort to bypass a major industry bottleneck and bring critically needed projects online more quickly.

“The survey results reflect both the scale of the challenge facing the region and the progress being made to meet it," said Michael Carrigan, president of OMS and commissioner on the Illinois Commerce Commission.

OMS consists of a self-governing group of representatives from each state with regulatory jurisdiction over entities participating in MISO. The purpose of OMS is to coordinate regulatory oversight among the states, including recommendations to MISO, its board of directors and other relevant government commissions or entities like the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Together, the OMS-MISO survey assesses anticipated generating capacity over a five-year planning horizon. This latest survey also notes a continuous shift in seasonal reliability risk from summer to winter as the region’s resource mix evolves. To address this, MISO is updating its accreditation methods, beginning its planning for 2028-2029 to improve how its latest resources reflect the most valuable details for utilities.

The organizations state they will do so by implementing a Direct Loss of Load (DLOL) methodology, which more accurately measures how resources perform during their highest risk periods.

“MISO, our state commissions and our member utilities are taking meaningful steps to stay ahead of the rapid changes unfolding across the electric system,” said John Bear, President and CEO of MISO. “The insights from this survey help ensure we are all making informed, collaborative decisions to maintain reliability for the communities we serve.”