ISO-NE executives discuss resource, energy adequacy at FERC conference

Two executives from ISO New England discussed the organization’s efforts around resource and energy adequacy at a technical conference hosted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Washington on June 4 and 5.

Resource adequacy means having enough electricity-supplying or demand-reducing facilities on the bulk power system to meet the region’s needs and avoid outages. FERC organized the conference as ISO-NE and its counterparts in other areas of the United States prepare for expected demand growth in light of an aging resource fleet and challenges around building new resources.

“The region has maintained resource adequacy, but it will likely become more challenging due to the real-world constraints and the fact that state policies are driving a rapid evolution of the resource mix and pushing the region towards a winter peaking system,” ISO-NE President and CEO Gordon van Welie told commissioners on the first day of the conference.

Stephen George, vice president, System Operations and Market Administration, spoke on the second day of the conference during a panel focused on resource adequacy challenges in the Northeast.

In verbal and written remarks, van Welie and George discussed the ISO’s work on Capacity Auction Reforms, which include updated capacity accreditation methods. The reforms are intended to better ensure power system reliability and cost-efficiency as the region’s resource mix evolves. The ISO is developing the reforms in collaboration with stakeholders and plans to file an initial proposal with FERC before the end of the year.

They also described the Regional Energy Shortfall Threshold (REST), a framework the ISO is developing with stakeholders to assess energy shortfall risks from extreme weather, and improvements to the ISO’s interconnection and long-term planning processes.

Both van Welie and George stressed the “joint and complementary role” of the New England states in ensuring resource and energy adequacy. As van Welie told commissioners: “The ISO’s role is to design and operate the capacity auction, while the states are best positioned to address barriers to entry and mitigate the impact of wholesale market volatility on retail consumers.”