FERC Approves SPP "Topology Optimization" Plan For Cutting Grid Congestion

By Ethan Howland of UtilityDive

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Wednesday approved the Southwest Power Pool’s proposal for using “topology optimization” to reduce grid congestion and its related costs.

Traditionally, grid operators respond to grid congestion by redispatching power plants, which can lead to higher production and congestion costs, SPP said in its May 21 proposal to FERC.

However, with grid-enhancing technologies, grid operators can use topology reconfiguration to change power flows as a less expensive way to handle congestion, according to SPP, which runs the grid in all or part of 17 states from north Texas to North Dakota.

Under SPP’s plan, market participants will be able to submit proposals for reconfigurations due to power plant outages or grid constraints, or the grid operator itself may offer a reconfiguration, according to SPP’s application at FERC.

SPP will analyze the potential reconfigurations to determine if the wholesale market as a whole will benefit from the reconfiguration, the grid operator said. SPP will also assess the reconfiguration’s effect on grid reliability before approving a change.

A study conducted by NewGrid, SPP and the Brattle Group found that historical system operating limit violations could be eliminated for 75% of the constraints that were analyzed, with potential congestion cost savings of $18 million to $44 million a year, the grid operator said.

In its application, SPP pointed to the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s success with economic topology reconfiguration, which MISO started using in 2024. So far this year, MISO has saved $95 million through economic reconfigurations, according to an Aug. 18 staff presentation to the grid operator’s Reliability Subcommittee.

SPP’s plan was developed through its stakeholder process and supported at FERC by Advanced Energy United, the Working for Advanced Transmission Technologies Coalition, and a joint filing by Evergy, Enel North America and EDF Power Solutions.

SPP’s congestion costs averaged $1.6 billion a year over the last three years, Evergy, Enel and EDF noted, citing the grid operator’s market monitor’s most recent state of the market report.

Also, SPP averaged 1,382 MW of curtailed wind and solar resources throughout 2025, “representing cost increases for consumers and creating reliability risk due to potential generation shortfalls,” the companies said.

“Reconfigurations reliably reroute electric flow around congestion by opening or closing circuit breakers, and has afforded millions of dollars in congestion savings across MISO and SPP,” they said, adding that SPP already uses topology reconfigurations to manage reliability issues.

In separate concurring statements, FERC commissioners Judy Chang and David Rosner urged other grid operators to adopt topology optimization as a means for better managing power flows, including during extreme weather conditions.

“It is an example of the type of advanced transmission technologies that can readily help the U.S. power system quickly integrate more load and generation while reducing costs to all consumers,” Chang said.

The Electric Reliability Council of Texas is set to implement a topology optimization mechanism early next year, SPP noted.