ISO-NE forward capacity auction closes with adequate power system resources for 2021-2022

The ISO will retain about 1,300 megawatts to ensure local reliability

New England’s annual Forward Capacity Market auction for power system resources concluded Tuesday, February 6 with sufficient resources to meet peak demand in 2021-2022, and preliminary results indicate the clearing price was the lowest in five years due to a surplus of capacity in the region. The auction is run by ISO New England to procure the resources that will be needed to meet consumer demand for electricity in three years.

The 12th Forward Capacity Auction closed at a preliminary clearing price of $4.63 per kilowatt-month (kW-month) across New England, compared to $5.30/kW-month in last year’s auction. The auction concluded with commitments from 34,828 MW to be available in 2021-2022, a number that includes 1,103 MW of surplus capacity system-wide and about 1,300 MW of resources that were retained for transmissions security after they sought to delist. The auction rules allow the region to acquire more or less than the capacity target, providing flexibility to acquire additional capacity and enhanced reliability at a cost-effective price. Read the February 8 press release for more details.