ISO New England expects to have adequate energy and fuel resources for winter

ISO NEW ENGLAND expects the New England grid to have enough resources to handle energy and fuel demands in the coming winter. / COURTESY ISO NEW ENGLAND
ISO NEW ENGLAND expects the New England grid to have enough resources to handle energy and fuel demands in the coming winter. / COURTESY ISO NEW ENGLAND

PROVIDENCE – ISO New England, operator of the New England electricity grid, said Wednesday that it expects to have enough resources to meet consumer demand this winter.

ISO NE also said that it expects demand to peak at 20,357 megawatts under normal conditions and 21,057 MW at peak conditions.

Despite the positive outlook from ISO New England, it noted that if demand outstrips expectations, due to conditions such as the two-week cold snap last year – that the grid may have to implement emergency operating procedures to maintain reliability.

“Last winter demonstrated just how much the weather can impact power system operations, not just in terms of consumer demand for electricity but in the ability of generators to access fuel,” said Peter Brandien, ISO New England’s vice president for system operations, in a statement. “The ISO has learned lessons from this experience and made near-term improvements to help address these energy security concerns.”

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The power operator noted that following the 2017 cold snap, it had implemented new market and system initiatives, such as to forecast the region’s available energy for the upcoming 21 days to ensure effective use of limited fuel supplies in certain locations at needed times.

The organization said that this will be the first winter with the ISO’s pay-for-performance capacity market rules, which went into effect in June and provide incentives for energy and fuel supply, as well as to reduce strain on the grid at times of high demand. The program rewards and punishes generators with bonus payments for preparedness and delivery of agreed-upon contracts and financial penalties for failure to deliver. The program’s bonuses penalties are scheduled to increase over time.

ISO New England also noted in its announcement Wednesday that the proliferation of the use of natural gas for both heat and electricity – despite only an incremental expansion of the gas-delivery infrastructure – poses a problem in extreme cold weather situations.

Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.

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