ISO-NE kicked off NEPOOL discussions for the second phase of its capacity auction reform project, beginning long-awaited talks on accreditation and seasonal capacity auction changes.

ISO-NE’s multiyear effort to overhaul its forward capacity market likely will continue to dominate ISO-NE and NEPOOL work in 2025.

ISO-NE reiterated its plans not to include in its capacity auction reform project the development of ambient temperature modeling capabilities or a new simultaneous seasonal auction clearing engine.

ISO-NE’s Capacity Auction Reforms project will include an evaluation of additional resource accreditation modeling enhancements, the RTO told the NEPOOL Markets Committee.

A major multiday energy storage project in central Maine intended to ease congestion is moving forward thanks to $147 million in federal funding.

As ISO-NE undertakes major capacity market accreditation reforms, New England storage developers are voicing concerns that potential flaws in the RTO’s modeling methodology could discourage new investments in storage resources.

ISO-NE presented the initial scope of its work to coordinate resource capacity accreditation improvements with proposed capacity market timing changes at the NEPOOL Markets Committee summer meeting.

NEPOOL held its annual summer Participants Committee meeting in New Hampshire during a multiday stretch of extreme heat and high demand on the New England grid.

FERC has accepted the results of ISO-NE’s forward capacity auction 18, finding the auction was run according to the rules of ISO’s tariff and protests submitted by climate activists were outside the scope of the proceeding.