Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts were singled out for their power
capabilities in the 2003 Regional Transmission Expansion Plan released by ISO
New England Inc. last month. But the plan also states that a better grid network
is needed to ensure that “locked-in generation” power can reach beyond the area
when it needs to.
ISO New England is a nonprofit, independent system operator responsible for the reliability of the region’s power systems. The group outlined nearly 40 new projects in the 2003 report and estimated costs for all of the 250 planned or proposed projects at between $1.5 billion and $3 billion.
While the report is a blueprint for enhancements needed to ensure the reliability of the system, it officially only acts as a recommendation to the industry. Regional providers are responsible working with local regulatory bodies for siting the path and creating the specifics of a line or project.
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Erin O’Brien, a spokeswoman for ISO New England, said the report recommended implementation for all of the projects over the next five to 10 years and said southwestern Connecticut remains one of the largest areas of concern.
The disturbance that caused the mid-August blackout originated in the Midwest and caused a transient surge to flow into New England, causing a second surge to flow energy out of the region. Within seconds, O’Brien said, tie lines connecting New England to New York opened up, interrupting the circuit and closing off the region from the surge. Southwestern Connecticut was the closest area affected, followed by western Massachusetts and Vermont, where inadequate systems were in place to provide needed reserves.
“In the past few years there’s been a significant investment on the generation side,” said O’Brien, who noted New England’s electric-generating capacity has grown by almost one-third since 1999. “The transmission piece has simply not kept pace with that.”
Southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island (along with Maine) remain areas classified as “locked-in generation” regions, where there is more than adequate energy but inadequate transmission capabilities. As a way of improving transmission, the most critical projects for the area include a new east-to-west 345 kilovolts transmission path leading from Massachusetts to Rhode Island and into Connecticut.
Other critical areas include northwest Vermont and Greater Boston, which are experiencing a growth in demand while coping with the aging of older generation units.
O’Brien said tackling New England as a whole is important because “load pockets” can be created when there is insufficient supply in either transmission or generation. Those pockets are always at a higher risk for service interruptions that can quickly impact other areas of New England.
Industry stakeholders, including state regulators and market participants, helped develop the transmission plan, now in its third year. The plan includes a comprehensive system assessment, transmission planning analyses and discusses resource adequacy, transmission congestion, air emissions, fuel diversity and distributed resources.
Along with operating the bulk power grid, ISO New England is the administrator of the region’s wholesale electricity marketplace.
In late November, the group filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to become a Regional Transmission Organization. The change would make ISO New England the transmission provider for the region and give it operational control over the region’s transmission facilities along with the authority to require transmission owners to upgrade lines when needed for reliability.
