ISO-NE energy security team recognized with ESIG Excellence Award

An interdisciplinary team from ISO New England has been recognized with an Excellence Award from the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) for developing tools that support regional energy security.

ISO New England Senior Economist Andrew Withers, center, accepts an ESIG Excellence Award on behalf of the ISO’s REST team. Also pictured are ESIG Executive Director Debbie Lew, left, and ESIG Board of Directors President Mark Ahlstrom. (Photo courtesy of ESIG)

The ISO’s Regional Energy Shortfall Threshold (REST) helps the region assess the grid’s ability to deliver energy during extreme weather conditions. It is based on the ISO’s Probabilistic Energy Adequacy Tool (PEAT). REST focuses on the riskiest 0.25% of extreme conditions, which in practical terms means conditions that could occur, on average, once every 90 summers or winters.

This past winter marked the first time ISO-NE used PEAT to assess energy shortfall risk against REST metrics. The pre-winter analysis found the regional power system was well-positioned. The grid remained reliable during the season despite the most challenging winter conditions in nearly a decade.

“I am thrilled at our team’s recognition,” said ISO-NE President and CEO Vamsi Chadalavada. “This innovative work will become an industry standard in due course and I thank the team for their outstanding work.”

The Excellence Award recognizes 12 members of the REST team:

  • Jinye Zhao, technical manager, Advanced Technology Solutions
  • Mike Knowland, manager, Forecast & Scheduling
  • Stephen George, vice president, System and Market Operations and Capital Projects
  • Ioannis Giannikopoulos, senior applied scientist, Market Simulation
  • Mingguo Hong, principal R&D engineer, Power System Technology
  • Hannah Johlas, lead energy security analyst, Forecast & Scheduling
  • Charles Jacobus, supervisor, Energy Operations Analytics Applications
  • Gabriela Alvarez Perez, energy security analyst, Operations Energy Analytics
  • Kyle Zeng, associate computer scientist, Energy Operations Analytics Applications
  • Darrin Frodey, computer scientist, Energy Operations Analytics Applications
  • Andrew Withers, senior economist, Market Design
  • Isaac Gustafson, analyst, Market Design

ESIG is a nonprofit that marshals the expertise of the electricity industry’s technical community to support grid transformation. The organization honored this year’s award recipients during its 2026 Spring Technical Workshop in Tucson, Arizona.

Categories
Inside ISO New England
Tags
energy adequacy, ISO leadership, weather