FERC Okays Electronic Dispatch of Wind and Hydro in ISO-NE Market
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved a modified electronic dispatch method for certain wind and hydropower resources in the Independent System Operator-New England (ISO-NE) market (ER15-1509), in order to help “manage localized congestion.”
The FERC order, posted on July 27, accepts, in part, ISO-NE’s proposed tariff revisions, which are due to become effective on April 10, 2016 – a year after the application was first made by both the system operator and the New England Power Pool Participants Committee. By building in one year of lead time, the commission has provided time for “ISO-NE’s efforts to inform and train smaller hydro resources, as they prepare for the changes.”
The decision enables the ISO to upgrade from manual dispatch and curtailment to electronic management of these resources – specifically nonsettlement-only wind and hydro intermittent power resources greater than 5 MW – using “Do Not Exceed (DNE)” Dispatch Points. The Do Not Exceed limit represents the maximum amount of economical wind and hydropower generation that the New England grid can accommodate without causing any reliability issues.
