The Commission requires the utilities include in each Biennial Report a "list of studies that have been completed, are in progress, or are planned that are relevant to each of the inadequacies identified" in the Report.¹⁷ Since the 2011 Biennial Report, the utilities have broken this chapter up into several subsections, each addressing different types of studies. The same arrangement for reporting the studies is continued in this 2025 Report.

Section 3.2 describes studies completed to either address expansion of the transmission network to provide for generation expansion or address local inadequacy issues (noted with a Tracking Number). Section 3.3 describes ongoing regional studies that focus on expansion of the bulk electric system to address broad regional reliability issues and support expansion of renewable energy in the upper Midwest. Section 3.4 focuses on ongoing load serving studies done to address local inadequacy issues.

The MPUC rules state that the utilities must include in the Biennial Report a copy of "the most recent regional load and capability report of the Mid-Continent Area Power Pool."¹⁸ As the utilities reported in the 2011 Report, however, MISO has taken over most of the planning that occurs in this part of the country. MAPP has not prepared a Load & Capability Report since May 2009. MAPP, in fact, discontinued its existence in October 2015.

3.2 Completed Studies

The following studies were completed since the last Biennial Report was submitted in November 2023. Previously completed studies can be found in previous Biennial Reports and are not repeated here. Where specific transmission projects have been identified, a Tracking Number is provided. The Tracking Number identifies the year the project was first considered for inclusion in a Biennial Report and the zone where the project is located.

Study Title	Year Completed	Utility Lead	Description
Austin Area Load Serving Study	2025	SMMPA	A load study was performed on the Austin area transmission system to assess its capability to serve current and new loads and create plans to address any voltage or thermal violations that were presented.
Grid Enhancing Technologies	2025	GRE/GNP	Identify GETs solutions to mitigate transmission facilities showing historic congestion.
Willmar Area Study	2024	MRES GRE	Transmission system assessments indicated that the Willmar area has limited voltage and thermal margin for near term load expansion. This Willmar area study was performed to identify the deficiencies and determine a transmission plan that mitigates the deficiencies.

3.3 Regional Studies

While every study undertaken adds to the knowledge of the transmission engineers and helps to determine the transmission facilities required to address long-term reliability and to transport renewable energy from various parts of the state to the customers, some studies are intentionally designed to take a broader look at overall transmission needs. Regional studies analyze the limitation of the regional transmission system and develop transmission alternatives to support multiple generation interconnection requests, regional load growth, and the elimination of transmission constraints that adversely affect utilities' ability to deliver energy to the market in a cost-effective manner.

3.3.1 MISO Transmission Expansion Plans

MISO engages in annual regional transmission planning and documents the results of its planning activities in the MTEP reports. The MTEP process is explained in detail in Chapter 6 since the latest MTEP reports are being relied on to provide information about the transmission inadequacies identified in this Report. Earlier MTEP Reports were summarized in past Biennial Reports. For convenience, the following brief description of the latest MTEP reports is presented here. The MISO Expansion Plans are available on the MISO webpage. Visit http://www.misoenergy.org and click on "Planning."

MTEP21 Report

The MTEP21 report identified projects required to maintain reliability for the ten-year period through the year 2030 and provides evaluation of projects required for economic needs up to twenty years in the future.

MTEP21 included 335 new transmission projects, equaling $3 billion in investment to address near-term reliability needs and aging infrastructure. Of the $3 billion, $345 million were Generator Interconnection Projects, $187 million were new Baseline Reliability Projects, and approximately $2.5 billion fell into the Other category.

MTEP21 also included the first tranche of MISO's Long Range Transmission Plan (LRTP). The MISO LRTP Tranche 1 includes 18 regional transmission projects totaling approximately $10 billion which span the nine-state MISO Midwest footprint. Three MISO LRTP Tranche 1 projects are located in Minnesota. Additional information on the MISO LRTP Tranche 1 is in Chapter 10.

MTEP22 Report

The MTEP22 report identified projects required to maintain reliability for the ten-year period through the year 2031 and provides an evaluation of projects required for economic need up to twenty years in the future.
MTEP22 includes new transmission projects with $4.3 billion in investment to address current reliability needs and regional upgrades. Of the $4.3 billion, $8 million were Market Participant Funded projects, $547 million were Generator Interconnection Projects, $545 million were new Baseline Reliability projects, and approximately $3.17 billion fell into the Other category.

MTEP23 Report

The MTEP23 report identified projects required to maintain reliability for the ten-year period and provides evaluation of projects required for economic need up to twenty years in the future.

MTEP23 includes 572 new transmission projects with $8.9 billion in investment to address reliability needs and regional upgrades. Of the $8.9 billion, $1.2 billion were Generator Interconnection Projects, $1.7 billion were new Baseline Reliability projects, and approximately
$6.0 billion fell into the Other category.

MTEP24 Report

The MTEP24 report identified projects required to maintain reliability for the ten-year period and provides evaluation of projects required for economic need up to twenty years in the future.

MTEP24 includes 459 new local transmission projects with $6.7 billion in investment to address local reliability needs. Of the $6.7 billion, $858 million were Transmission Delivery Service projects, $763 million were Generator Interconnection Projects, $1.1 billion were Baseline Reliability projects, and approximately $4.1 billion fell into the Other category.

In addition to the local transmission projects, MTEP24 also includes the second tranche of MISO's LRTP. The MISO LRTP Tranche 2.1 includes 24 regional transmission projects totaling approximately 3,600 miles which span the nine-state MISO Midwest footprint. Eight MISO LRTP Tranche 2.1 projects are at least partially in Minnesota. Additional information on the MISO LRTP Tranche 2.1 is in Chapter 10.

MTEP25 Report

The MTEP25 Report identifies projects required to maintain reliability and provides a preliminary evaluation of projects that may be required for economic benefit up to twenty years in the future. MISO updated the MTEP portal on August 28, 2025, which can be found at MTEP25 Report (misoenergy.org).

3.4 Load-Serving Studies

Load-serving studies focus on addressing load serving needs in a particular area or community. Since many of the inadequacies in Chapter 6 are driven by load serving needs, many of these studies relate to specific Tracking Numbers.

Study Title	Anticipated completion	Utility lead for Study	Description
Great River Energy Large Load Studies	N/A	GRE	Great River Energy has had multiple requests across its member systems' service areas for potential large load installations. These loads have ranged from 2.5 MW to over a 1,000 MW. These requests have non-disclosure agreements and therefore are not communicated until the requesting party makes a decision to allow communication to other parties. Smaller load requests on occasion can be supplied by the existing transmission system, however in most cases new transmission will be required to serve these loads. Upon approval by the requesting party, Great River Energy will work with neighboring transmission owners in assessing the system for impacts for certain desired locations. Great River Energy will work with the State, if needed, upon notification of approval of a selected location for the new load.
Henning/Inman Area Study	2026	GRE	The Henning 230/41.6 kV transformer is due for a replacement due to age and condition, which would involve a new 230/41.6 kV transformer and building the 230 kV bus at Henning GRE standards. GRE is evaluating both the replacement and alternatives which include adding a transformer at Inman with transmission expansion to best meet reliability needs in the Henning/Inman area.
Xcel Energy Large Load Studies	N/A	NSP	Xcel Energy has several large load requests across the Northern States Power footprint that range from several hundred MWs to over 1 GW. These studies have a non-disclosure agreement that unless the interconnection requestor makes it public, we are withholding information until then. Most of these new large load requests will require new transmission depending on the location and size. Xcel Energy is working with any affected parties to ensure that the transmission system maintains reliability.

17 Minn. R. 7848.1300(F).

18 Minn. R. 7848.1300(B).