ISO-NE to host public webinar on study detailing potential market designs for the future grid

ISO New England will host a public webinar at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, June 1 to present the recently-released Pathways Study: Evaluation of Pathways to a Future Grid—a study of potential wholesale market design frameworks that would allow New England to meet its decarbonziation goals. The webinar is expected to last 90 minutes and is free, though registration is required and can be done through ISO-TEN.

In early 2021, ISO New England’s Board of Directors directed ISO management to pursue an assessment of policy and wholesale market frameworks that could help in the evolution of the regional power grid—specifically, a reduction in carbon emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2040. The ISO hired Analysis Group to conduct the study, which is part of a broader initiative to assist the region’s transition to a future grid that is efficient, clean, and reliable.

Analysis Group worked with ISO staff, the New England states, and regional stakeholders to develop assumptions and scenarios before exercising its independent judgment in carrying out the modeling work and the production of study results.

The June 1 briefing will elaborate on the need for the study given various state decarbonization and renewable energy mandates, the four specific pathways analyzed, and the results from the study. The four pathways included integration of a net carbon price into the regional wholesale market; creation of a new Forward Clean Energy Market (FCEM); a hybrid that includes elements of the net carbon pricing and FCEM approaches; and a continuation of the status quo (clean energy procurements by individual states).