Teamwork across ISO-NE critical in addition of new transmission line
This story is the first in a series spotlighting ISO New England employees who helped complete a major, multi-year project that required expertise from across the organization.
Behind every major initiative on the regional electric grid, there is a team at ISO New England ensuring system operators are ready for what’s next. From new transmission lines to evolving market rules, Josh Lenzen and the System Operations Readiness team take projects from concept to reality, one critical detail at a time.
“We start at the infancy of a project and work all the way to when it’s deployed,” Lenzen said. “Our job is to evaluate the projects coming in and represent system operations in the project space. Whether it’s software, new operating procedures, or tools, we make sure our business units get what they need for any change.”
ISO New England’s system operators keep the control room staffed 24/7 to ensure reliable power for the region. When a new project impacts any of their tools or procedures, Lenzen’s team steps in early to facilitate the change.
The team’s work spans everything from engagement with stakeholders to facilitating the testing and deployment of new tools for system operators. It’s a challenging role that requires both technical expertise and collaboration.
Lenzen spent more than a decade as a control room operator, senior operator, and shift supervisor before becoming the manager of System Operations Readiness. He said the challenges his team is built to overcome were front and center as the New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC), a new transmission line from Canada, was added to the grid.
For ISO New England, integrating NECEC was a massive, multi-year effort. It required revising the ISO tariff, the document outlining the rules and guidelines that govern the ISO and its market participants. It also involved modifying control room operating procedures and systems, updating transaction scheduling software, and coordinating across dozens of internal and external teams.
“Adding a new tie line involved many aspects of ISO New England such as system planning, engineering, legal, system operations, market administration, and IT support teams,” said Lenzen, adding that weekly meetings internally and with partners like Hydro-Québec kept the project on track.
“It’s impressive to see what everyone brings to the table,” Lenzen said. “It’s not just one person. It’s a bunch of people brainstorming ideas, troubleshooting problems, and coming up with unique solutions.”
NECEC is a 145-mile transmission line stretching from the Canadian border to a substation in Lewiston, Maine, where the electricity it carries is injected into the New England power grid. It began commercial operations in January. The project grew out of renewable energy legislation passed in Massachusetts in 2016. It was built and will be maintained by a subsidiary of Avangrid, but ISO New England has operational control over the line in its role as a regional transmission organization.
The project started as an elective transmission upgrade request in the ISO’s Interconnection Request Queue in 2017. ISO-NE system planners then launched a rigorous impact assessment that looked at what adding NECEC would mean for system reliability.
The real work for Lenzen’s team started about two years ago, after the impact assessment was complete and the project was approved. Lenzen’s team worked with the ISO’s Legal and Compliance department to develop key operating agreements before working with the Information Technology department to determine necessary software updates. Numerous applications, including energy management systems, market software, and capacity analysis tools, required evaluation and updates. ISO-NE engineers developed new operating guides used by the rest of System Operations, and Participant Relations personnel worked diligently to communicate changes and plans to members of the New England Power Pool. The list of groups that contributed goes on.
Lenzen, who recently received the ISO’s CEO Award for Dependability for his work on the project, said he and his team were able to find success because of the far-reaching efforts around ISO-NE. With NECEC behind them, his team is now focused on projects related to recent orders from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Lenzen said he feels confident that the organization is up for the challenges ahead.
“There have been dozens of teams incrementally working on this project as it has gone through its project life cycle,” Lenzen said. “Each phase of the project has involved different teams, and they all did their part to make this project an overall success. We have a lot of work in the next few years, and I’m confident we will work together to meet the region’s energy goals.”
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