Google and Xcel Back MISO Zero-Injection Framework as Gas Floods Fast-Track Queue
A new interconnection structure for co-located large loads draws utility and tech support as coal spreads widen and gas projects crowd MISO's capacity pipeline.
Google, Xcel Energy and a group of clean energy trade groups filed support on Wednesday (2026-09-09) for the Midcontinent Independent System Operator's proposed "zero injection" large-load interconnection framework, backing a structure that would let generators serve large customers at the same substation and voltage level, according to filings reviewed by Utility Dive.5
Coal has been the direct beneficiary of MISO's repricing over the past two years. MISO Indiana Hub spot prices settled at $150.33/MWh on Thursday (2026-09-10). EIA data show the region's dark spread, the margin between wholesale electricity prices and coal generation costs, averaged $28/MWh over the first four months of 2026, 39% wider than over the same four months of 2025.1
The spread widening reflects a simple disparity in cost escalation. From 2024 to 2025, average MISO electricity prices rose 44% while coal input costs climbed only 3%, per EIA data. The dark spread moved from $11/MWh in 2024 to $23/MWh in 2025, a 111% jump over one year.1
Gas generators saw nothing comparable. Natural gas prices rose 63% from 2024 to 2025, largely cancelling out the electricity price gain, and the spark spread advanced from $12/MWh in 2024 to $14/MWh in 2025. That 18% improvement compares with coal's threefold advance over the same period.1
Winter Storm Fern extended the coal advantage into early 2026. Daily average MISO power prices exceeded $260/MWh from January 26 to January 28, even as electricity demand during those six days ran 11% below the equivalent pre-storm weekday period, according to EIA data. Gas was the cost stress point, not load.1
But gas is filling the development pipeline. Utility Dive's analysis of MISO's fast-track interconnection list, released Wednesday (2026-05-27), put the queue at roughly 28 GW. Entergy's gas-fired projects account for nearly a third of that total, with about 70% of the utility's proposed capacity additions gas-fired.2
Renewables are moving more slowly. Spain-based Qualitas Energy acquired a 164 MWp development-stage solar PV project in Illinois from Bechtel Enterprises, funded through Qualitas Energy Fund VI. The project's notice to proceed is not expected until the second quarter of 2028, illustrating how elongated the development timeline has become for assets that have already found a buyer.4
MISO's seasonal outlook adds uncertainty on the demand side. The grid operator's seasonal readiness assessment noted that a weaker La Niña opens the door for colder-than-expected shots through the winter, while a stronger La Niña would allow a Southeast ridge to push warmth further north. Those are two materially different winter demand outcomes from a single climate driver.3
Near-term market signals are split. The consensus bias across MISO real-time signals leans bearish, but two contrarian signals, one weather-driven and one demand-driven, push the other way, with the demand signal carrying a confidence reading of 0.65. NYMEX Henry Hub front-month held at $2.82/MMBtu on Friday (2026-09-11), offering little directional guidance as autumn approaches.
FERC's response to the zero-injection framework backed by Google, Xcel and others on Wednesday (2026-09-09) will be the next concrete signal for grid investment planning in MISO. Approval could influence where large new loads site and, given the gas dominance in Entergy's fast-track queue, push the next wave of capacity additions further toward gas even as coal holds the wider generation margin.5,2