ISO New England briefs Vermont committee on role as grid operator and wholesale market manager

Sarah Adams, a senior state policy adviser with ISO New England, told the Vermont House Energy and Digital Infrastructure Committee on Jan. 23 that the ISO is the independent system operator for New England and that reliability is its top priority.

Adams said the ISO was established in 1997 and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). She described three core ISO roles: real‑time grid operation, administration of wholesale electricity markets, and long‑term power system planning. “Reliability is our number 1 priority,” Adams said, and the ISO’s operators work continuous shifts to balance demand, coordinate with neighboring jurisdictions and call on generators or imports as needed.

The ISO does not own transmission wires or generation, Adams emphasized. “We don't own any grid infrastructure,” she said. Instead, transmission owners and distribution utilities—Velco in Vermont; major utilities such as Eversource and National Grid elsewhere—own and maintain the wires. Adams likened the ISO to “air traffic controllers”: it directs flows but does not own the planes.

Adams outlined the three wholesale market components the ISO administers: the energy market (day‑ahead and real‑time, sensitive to fuel costs), the forward capacity market (a three‑year forward procurement to secure capacity), and ancillary services (voltage, frequency and other grid support). She noted wholesale markets send investment and operational signals: competition is intended to reflect operating costs, encourage innovation and shift investment risk to private developers.

Adams also described the ISO’s oversight and stakeholder processes, including regulation by FERC and coordination with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL). She said the ISO works with state offices, public utility commissions and consumer advocates to incorporate state policy assumptions into planning studies.

Committee members asked about how wholesale and retail prices relate and who can explain exposure to volatile spot prices. Adams said wholesale costs are only a small portion of a residential bill and suggested the state Public Utility Commission would be the appropriate entity to explain retail rate exposure. She added that the ISO’s own revenue requirement, if passed through, would amount to about $1.71 per month per residential customer.

Adams closed by offering the committee resources: invitations to an ISO 101 training and control‑room tours in Holyoke, Massachusetts; links to published planning studies and an ISO app showing real‑time prices and resource mix; and an offer to be a direct contact for legislators.