Not-for-Profit Group Gets Federal Approval to Run New England Electric System
By Stacy Wong, The Hartford Courant, Conn. -- Mar. 25
New England's power grid operator on Wednesday received approval from federal energy regulators to become the sole authority running the region's electric transmission system, a change designed to strengthen management of the power supply.
The approval by the energy commission makes ISO New England into a
"regional transmission organization," or RTO, with the legal authority
to manage the grid.
However, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said he intends to ask the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its decision.
"This fatally flawed ... decision will raise rates, reduce
accountability and reward market manipulation," he said. "Our
evaluation so far indicates that this decision will increase the power and
profits of transmission operators and impose an immediate $40 price tag on
consumers."
He and other state officials, including state Consumer Counsel Mary Healey,
fear consumers will end up paying more because of higher transmission rates
allowed by the federal government. Financial incentives would also be granted to
companies such as Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating under
the new organizational structure.
Previously, ISO New England could be fired as the grid manager by the New
England Power Pool, or NEPOOL, which includes the utilities and power plant
owner who participate in the region's energy markets.
"We didn't see a lot of benefits coming back to the NEPOOL participants
to warrant the increase in costs that might come this way," Healey said.
Dennis Hrabchak, vice president regulatory policy at UI, said the projected
increases would be very small for the average consumer, only about 60 cents a
year.
"The reality is, it's a very, very small number on an annual basis to
the average customers," he said, adding that it also doesn't take into
consideration any savings from operating a more efficient grid.
Utility officials said they wanted to review the decision before commenting
extensively because the energy commission imposed conditions on the approval
order.
Northeast Utilities spokesman Mitch Gross said the company is pleased with
the approval, but officials have yet to see the actual decision.
"We've continually supported the development of the New England RTO, and
still believe it's the next evolutionary step to building that competitive
wholesale energy market," he said.
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