The New England Transmission Owners outlined a proposal for a new asset condition project database at ISO-NE’s Planning Advisory Committee on Wednesday.

The proposal came in response to requests from the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE) for broad changes to the asset condition project process. (See States Press New England TOs on Asset Condition Projects.)

Asset condition projects target existing transmission infrastructure that is aging, defunct or otherwise in need of repair. Costs for asset condition projects in New England have ballooned in recent years and now make up the majority of new transmission spending in the region.

The proposed database would provide ISO-NE and the public with information on age, number of structures, inspection timing, and structure material and construction type for pool transmission facility (PTF) lines. The database also would provide new information on transformers, including operating voltages, age, and testing and inspection information.

The TOs’ presentation noted that future additions to the database could include metrics on asset health, more granular data on the age of structures and information on other PTF infrastructure, including control houses, circuit breakers and relays.

“We wanted to provide something that is impactful by the end of the year, and we will look into providing information on some of these additional elements at a later time,” said Eversource Energy’s Robin Lafayette, also representing TOs Avangrid, National Grid, Rhode Island Energy, VELCO and Versant Power.

Lafayette added that developing the asset health metric will take some time and that the TOs will need to be sensitive regarding confidential infrastructure information.

In a July letter to the TOs, NESCOE wrote that the “database should provide a comprehensive view of all information necessary to guide and inform holistic asset condition prioritization and decision-making.”

Beyond the database, NESCOE also recommended the TOs develop asset condition project spending plans, standardize the stakeholder review process and develop a criteria-based approach for asset condition solutions.

“The pace and scale of recent asset condition projects demonstrate the time urgency of such reforms,” NESCOE wrote. “By taking time now to slow down and establish a transparent and predictable asset condition process, New England can move toward work on a right-sizing approach — an important part of holistic planning that will allow for efficient transmission investment at the pace and scale needed for the region’s clean energy future.”