The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc. (MISO) broke ground today on a regional operations center in Little Rock, Arkansas
The power grid operations center will help ensure reliable transmission of electric power to customers from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.
This action marks the next phase of the successful integration on December 19, 2013, of the four-state electric grid spanning the southern region into MISO.
Similar to the company’s North Region Operations Center, the facility in Little Rock will serve as the command center for MISO’s newly established South Region. MISO expects to hire roughly 50 employees with an average yearly salary of $85,000 for various positions, including real-time operations, market operations, customer services, government and regulatory affairs, information technology and administrative support.
MISO expects to spend $22 million on its new facility in West Little Rock. The building is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2014 with an employee move-in date scheduled in spring of 2015.
MISO ensures reliable operation of, and equal access to, high-voltage power lines in 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba. MISO manages one of the world’s largest energy markets, with more than $20 billion in annual gross market energy transactions. MISO was approved as the nation’s first regional transmission organization in 2001. The not-for-profit organization is governed by an independent board of directors and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
