ISO-NE: Little Room for Error in Winter
The six New England states aren’t an island, but the region sometimes feels that way when it comes to its winter power supply. Although transmission ratings and maximum generation output is higher during the cold weather and peak load is lower, the ability to import power is a major concern.
“Transmission interfaces into New England are going to be loaded up pretty much around the clock every day,” Peter Brandien, ISO-NE’s vice president of system operations, told FERC on Thursday. “Which means that any sort of contingencies … I’ll have to handle with the resources internal to New England.
“People are talking about ramping up their efforts for the winter, but for us, [preparation occurs] throughout the year,” he continued. “I look forward to the time when I can come down here and say that we’re all set and we don’t have any concerns going into the winter. I feel like a broken record every time I’m down here talking about the same concerns.”
