ISO-NE 2024 Regional Electricity Outlook

ISO New England Inc., the operator of New England's wholesale electricity markets and transmission system, has published its 2024 Regional Electricity Outlook. The report examines trends affecting supply and demand for electricity, through the ongoing clean energy transition.

Specifically, ISO-NE notes the dawn of "a new era in our energy history", as broad decarbonization in the name of climate change becomes public policy. According to the grid operator, "This era will be marked by rapid and significant change. Over the next 20 years, we expect that renewable resources will displace natural gas as the main source of electricity generation in the region—just as natural gas displaced coal and oil generation beginning 20 years ago."

As in its most recent prior Regional Electricity Outlook report (issued in 2022), ISO-NE's 2024 report identifies "four pillars for a reliable transition to a greener grid: clean energy, balancing resources, energy adequacy, and robust transmission."

• Pillar One: Clean Energy. "In the coming years, construction of unprecedented amounts of clean energy resources will be needed to meet state decarbonization goals while serving significantly increased demand."
• Pillar Two: Balancing Resources. "Dispatchable generators, energy storage, demand response, and a range of services will be crucial to ensure equilibrium as intermittent resources see swings in energy production."
• Pillar Three: Energy Adequacy. "Risks to energy adequacy could increase if expected renewable resources don’t materialize, needed transmission isn’t built, or fuel supply chains are disrupted."
• Pillar Four: Robust Transmission. "Significant investment in new and existing infrastructure will be critical to enabling the clean energy transition."

In its 2024 report, ISO-NE rated each pillar as green, yellow, or red, based on its relative health and readiness to meet the needs ahead. For example, ISO-NE assigned the first three pillars a rating of "yellow trending green", but ranked transmission development as yellow.

The report concludes that collaboration is essential:

All four pillars must be robust—there is no path to a reliable, clean energy future without all four elements working in concert. That same balance is required from the partnership among the region’s energy stakeholders, with each—the ISO, policymakers, and market participants—doing their part to bring a shared vision for a greener future to fruition.

ISO-NE also notes the importance of education for "all stakeholders—including consumers—to understand how our electric power system operates, and the roles we each can play in ensuring it is clean, cost-effective, and reliable for generations to come."