RENSSELAER, N.Y — After receiving pan-sector feedback from stakeholders asking for more time to review NYISO’s proposed changes to the reliability planning process, the ISO told the Transmission Planning Advisory Subcommittee it would delay proposing tariff language.
“The last number of meetings have been productive. They have been long. They’ve been painful at times,” Zach Smith, NYISO vice president of system and resource planning, said March 3. “I believe given the volume of feedback we’ve gotten from stakeholders, it’s appropriate that we spend more time with [the Electric System Planning Working Group] to talk through some of the proposals.”
NYISO’s plan had been to introduce tariff language in March. At previous meetings, stakeholders balked at the breadth of changes and their potential system impacts. (See Stakeholders Ask for Boundaries on NYISO’s Reformed Reliability Process.) ISO staff said they will spend additional time in March and April hashing out the changes with stakeholders.
“I want to make sure that we get this right and try to come up with the best process possible,” Smith said. Even with the extra month of deliberation, the ISO should be able to get the new process in place before the next Reliability Needs Assessment, he said.
Environmental, transmission and generation interests were appreciative of the extra time. Several sectors stressed that they were concerned with how NYISO would develop planning scenarios and digest stakeholder feedback.
Tony Abate, representing the New York Power Authority, told stakeholders that transmission planners have been “super involved” with working with NYISO to figure out how best to help with the changes.
“Transmission owners have only been so-so vocal compared with other sectors,” Abate said. “I want other stakeholders to know that’s because we’ve been having intense conversations amongst transmission planners at each of the TOs to consider what we think is best, and how TOs can enhance participation.”
Anie Philip, senior director of planning for PSEG Long Island, commented that NYISO had to develop a process that included the Long Island Power Authority at every step. PSEG Long Island manages LIPA’s distribution system on its.
“LIPA has a direct statutory obligation as a legislatively charted public utility to plan for and maintain reliability within its transmission district,” Philip said. “LIPA must have a full and meaningful role in all aspects of the Reliability Needs Assessment as it applies to LIPA’s district.”
The conversation shifted to discussing the actual proposed changes. This includes the development of multiple forecast scenarios for reliability planning, rather than one base case. If a reliability issue is found in multiple scenarios, the ISO would start the solicitation process for a solution.
Howard Fromer of Bayonne Energy Center asked whether NYISO had considered what it would do if New York state did not agree with a reliability finding under the new process.
“I think it would be counterproductive to have us have a process where you go through with this and the state disagrees with the foundational assumptions that drove you to reach your conclusion,” Fromer said. He recommended that the ISO develop a formal process to work with state agencies to get buy-in upfront.
Adam Evans, chief of wholesale and clean energy markets at the New York Department of Public Service, said he shared Fromer’s concerns and that he would be happy to work with NYISO to come up with a process that “ensures there’s more potential alignment.”
