ISO-NE Reviews

The Independent Systems Operator of New England (ISO New England or ISO-NE) is the regional administrator of the transmission system in New England. In addition to regulating prices and system upgrades, the ISO-NE tracks and approves large scale generation systems connected to the transmission grid. The ISO-NE is also responsible for reviewing projects connected to the distribution grid that are over certain sizes and in certain critical locations.

The current threshold for projects requiring ISO-NE review is 5 MW (5,000 kW). The ISO-NE has requested that utilities also notify them of any projects greater than 1 MW, though these may not require additional review. Some exceptions may be made, specifically in cases where multiple systems on one circuit of the distribution system add up to 5 MW or in cases where a project is participating in a Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) project with a utility.

Each utility tracks its interconnections, and, at present, the ISO-NE has stated that they plan to use this tracking to flag any projects that may need to review. Therefore, a customer with a project less than 5 MW is not required to approach the ISO-NE at this time.

For projects greater than 5 MW, an 18.4 application for new generation must be submitted to the ISO-NE. More information is available at the ISO-NE website on the new generation process and new generation forms.

  • Note: in order to participate in the Forward Capacity Market, DG and other "Demand Resources" must submit "Show of Interest Forms" to ISO-NE before February 28, 2007