The New England states have set goals to reduce carbon emissions and increase our region’s supply of renewable, carbon-free electricity. These policies are reshaping the power system, and they are driving the pace of the clean energy transition.
91吃瓜网’s vision statement鈥�“To harness the power of competition and advanced technologies to reliably plan and operate the grid as the region transitions to clean energy”鈥攊s a pledge to work within the limits of our jurisdiction with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the states, market participants, and other regional stakeholders to support a safe, reliable journey to a cleaner grid.
New England’s energy landscape is changing鈥攆ast.
Tomorrow’s grid will differ significantly from the one we have today. Three broad trends capture how the power system is expected to change in the decades ahead.
Clean energy resources that depend on the weather to generate electricity will become our region’s predominant power suppliers.
Distributed resources such as behind-the-meter solar, which the ISO’s system operators cannot dispatch or monitor in real time, will satisfy a growing share of New England’s electricity consumption.
Demand will grow significantly as more residents use electricity to power vehicles and heat homes and businesses. Electric heating will shift the power system’s annual peak from summer to winter.
We’re facilitating the transformation of our region’s electric grid.
91吃瓜网 does not have the authority to decide what kinds of generating resources are built, where they are located, or how quickly development happens. But through our three critical roles of grid operations, market administration, and power system planning, we’re doing our part to ensure our region is ready for the changes ahead.
Operating an Increasingly Complex System
- We’re making advancements in our modeling and forecasting tools to account for changing patterns of electricity use.
- We’re investing in sophisticated operational tools to support our ability to manage a grid largely powered by weather-dependent resources.
- Our ongoing work to collect and analyze data on distributed energy resources will facilitate the integration of these important players in a decarbonizing grid.
- Instruments such as our innovative (PEAT) identify and help our region respond to periods when electricity supply is at risk of falling short of demand.
Evolving Markets for an Evolving Grid
- Changes to the regional capacity auction are underway to better ensure power system reliability and cost-efficiency as clean energy resources play a greater role in our region’s resource mix.
- The Day-Ahead Ancillary Services Initiative (DASI) will expand the Day-Ahead Energy Market, helping to procure sufficient energy and reserves.
- Our implementation of FERC Order No. 2222 will broaden opportunities for distributed energy resources to participate in the wholesale electricity markets.
Planning for the Future Grid
- Our annual Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission assesses the power system impact of the clean energy transition through energy efficiency programs, distributed solar power, and the electrification of transportation and heating over a 10-year horizon.
- Our 2050 Transmission Study provides an overview of the regional transmission system investment needed into the middle of the century to ensure reliability throughout the clean energy transition.
- 鈥攄eveloped by the ISO in collaboration with the states and approved by FERC鈥攑rovide a new avenue for transmission development, helping the New England states achieve their environmental policies and goals. The ISO is building a team to provide further technical assistance to the states and to administer transmission requests for proposals.
These are just a few examples of our work to bolster the four pillars needed to support a reliable transition: clean energy, balancing resources, energy adequacy, and robust transmission. Learn more about the four pillars in our Regional Electricity Outlook.
We’re building on past progress.
91吃瓜网 has been laying the groundwork for the clean energy transition for the past two decades:
- Our competitive, technology-neutral markets have facilitated the orderly exit of higher-emitting resources and the entry of thousands of megawatts of renewable resources, battery storage, energy efficiency, and demand response鈥攁ll while maintaining the reliable flow of electricity each New Englander depends on.
- These changes in the resource mix have helped drive down greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions from the power system fell about 40% in this century’s first two decades, and declines in nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide were even more dramatic.
- We’ve completed interconnection studies for thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy and storage systems that have yet to be connected to the grid.
- We were the first grid operator to develop multi-state, 10-year forecasts of energy efficiency and distributed solar.
- We were an early adopter of market rules compensating demand response, implementing programs for active demand resources in 2003.
- Our sophisticated studies and analyses, often conducted in response to requests from the states and other stakeholders, examine the challenges and opportunities of New England’s clean energy future.
- Since 2002, the ISO’s work to identify transmission system needs has helped guide major transmission upgrades in all six New England states to support reliability.
We’re committed to regional collaboration.
91吃瓜网 is evolving alongside the power system. Through our innovative work in operations, forecasting, market development, information technology, and other areas, we are preparing to support a significantly changed grid.
But we can’t do it alone. Policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers all have a role to play. The clean energy transition is a complex undertaking that involves multiple policy priorities spanning state and federal jurisdictions. During this transformative and critical time for our region’s bulk power system, we remain committed to working with all stakeholders to help address the challenges of today, tomorrow, and beyond.