2026 Regional Electricity Outlook highlights ISO-NE’s innovative work amid changing energy landscape

ISO New England has published its latest Regional Electricity Outlook, an overview of trends affecting New England’s power system and the ISO’s innovative work to ensure reliable, competitively priced electricity for the region’s homes and businesses — today and in the future.

The outlook provides highlights of ISO-NE initiatives that support our three critical roles — operating today’s power system, overseeing the wholesale electricity markets, and planning the power system of the future — through a period of rapid change. These initiatives address the evolving public policy landscape, and uncertainties related to energy adequacy, extreme weather, a changing technological landscape, and growth in electricity demand.

The ISO has published regular updates since 2008, and in 2024 the outlook moved to a web-based format. This year’s edition includes separate sections for the ISO’s longer-term focused initiatives, the Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission (the CELT Report), and our economic studies. The outlook also includes an overview of ISO-NE projects that will help the region navigate the challenges of the next two to five years.

The outlook includes dynamic, interactive graphics and links to reports, presentations, and other material across iso-ne.com, and is written in easy-to-understand, approachable language designed for a wide audience. The ISO has made tremendous progress in identifying increasingly complex challenges, and taking steps to help the region chart a path forward. Together with stakeholders, the ISO is confident the region can achieve the right balance of resources and policies to support reliability and affordability for New England through the decades ahead.