NEPOOL stakeholders will consider whether to increase the age limit for members of ISO-NE’s Board of Directors this week, as the grid operator looks to expand the pool of candidates for the job.

The proposal, put forward by NextEra Energy’s Michelle Gardner, will get a vote at the Participants Committee this week.

A provision of the current ISO-NE and NEPOOL rules, in place since the Participants Agreement was adopted in 2004, prohibits anyone over the age of 70 from being elected or re-elected to the board.

Gardner plans to argue that best practices have changed since 2004, according to her presentation. Her proposal would raise the age limit to 75.

Two other RTOs have age limits of 75, and the rest have no limits at all, she says.

“In recent years, the age limit has contributed to difficulty in finding high-quality director candidates to serve on the ISO board,” according to Gardner’s presentation. It’s “challenging for actively employed executives to serve” on the board because of the time commitment it requires. And as many executives are now working full-time jobs into their 60s, “the present age limit shortens their service window.”

ISO-NE’s Code of Conduct also limits the ability of stakeholders to consider candidates who have been recently affiliated with market participants or are invested in companies that interact with ISO-NE. FERC’s interlock rule also comes into play.

ISO-NE spokesperson Matt Kakley said the grid operator supports the change.

“Making this change would bring ISO New England in line with our ISO and RTO peers and corporate best practices,” Kakley wrote in an email to RTO Insider. “Increasing the age limit will allow for a broader pool of candidates while maintaining existing parameters laid out in our Code of Conduct and FERC’s interlock rules.”

The board will meet on Tuesday, the day before the Participants Committee, for its first public meeting as part of a commitment by ISO-NE to the New England states to be more accessible and transparent.