The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) manages New York’s electricity transmission grid – a 10,775-mile network of high-voltage lines that carry electricity throughout the state. The NYISO also oversees wholesale electricity markets where more than $50 billion has been transacted since 1999.

The people of the NYISO understand their tremendous responsibility, and they take great pride in keeping the power flowing to 19.2 million New Yorkers. The state’s geographic location also means that the NYISO serves as the pivot point for the transfer of electricity to and from the Northeastern U.S. and Canada. The NYISO is a national leader in innovation and technology, and provides New York with the most sophisticated and comprehensive energy management system in the United States.

The NYISO’s predecessor was the New York Power Pool – a consortium of eight investor-owned utilities. Since Dec. 1, 1999, the NYISO has grown into a 400-person organization that applies integrity, independence and professionalism as it administers fair markets, allows for open access to the transmission system, operates a reliable transmission system and serves as the authoritative source for all energy related matters in New York.

Independence and Governance

The NYISO is a not-for-profit corporation regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. It is governed by a 10-member Board of Directors whose members come from the power industry, environmental organizations, and the fields of finance, academia, technology and communications. The members of the Board, as well as all employees, are independent; they have no business, financial, operating or other direct relationship to any Market Participant or stakeholder.

Under a unique form of shared governance, representatives from stakeholder groups discuss, debate and vote on issues directly affecting the NYISO’s operations, reliability and markets. The three committees – Management, Operating and Business Issues – are supported by several subcommittees, which are made up of individuals from five major sectors of the marketplace: Transmission Owners, Generation Owners, Other Suppliers, End-Use Consumers, and Public Power and Environmental Parties.

A Trusted Resource

In a marketplace as large and complex as the NYISO’s, trust is essential. The NYISO is dedicated to building and maintaining trust in how it carries out its operations, in the information it provides, and in its role as the independent, impartial broker of the state’s electricity markets.

The NYISO offers a variety of marketplace data and other important information to help those who buy and sell electricity in New York’s open, fair and competitive energy markets make more informed trading decisions. Further, the information the NYISO provides to Market Participants helps them determine whether to invest in new technologies, reduce energy usage, or propose new power plants and transmission lines so New Yorkers have adequate supplies of electricity.

New systems are regularly conceived, studied and deployed in an ongoing effort to maintain transparency and trust. At the forefront is SMD2 — a cutting edge, Web-based platform where more than $50 billion in transactions have been made since 1999.

A Plan for the Future

The Comprehensive Reliability Planning Process (CRPP) is the NYISO’s multi-tiered approach to assess and address the state’s future energy needs over a 10-year span.

The process includes a Reliability Needs Assessment (RNA), which is published annually and outlines the bulk power system’s needs. The Comprehensive Reliability Plan (CRP), which recommends solutions to meet those needs, is also released annually.

These plans identify market solutions that will help New York meet its future transmission, generation and demand response needs. It is part of an annual process of evaluating the electric grid so it remains safe and reliable for
New York residents.

Success

The NYISO has built a new marketplace for wholesale electricity and has embraced the challenge brought about by the new competitive landscape. Competitive markets have resulted in significant benefits to New York’s electric customers while safety and reliability have remained priorities.

The NYISO’s future is promising. With each innovation and with each success story, the satisfaction of our customers and the public continues to increase. It’s a trend we are dedicated to continuing.

Mission

The mission of the NYISO, in collaboration with its stakeholders, is to serve the public interest by:

• Maintaining and enhancing regional reliability
• Promoting and operating a fair and competitive electric wholesale market
• Achieving these objectives in a cost-effective manner
• Providing quality customer service

The Core Values of the NYISO establish the foundation from which all our responsibilities and accountabilities are delivered:

• Accountability – Taking personal responsibility to do what needs to be done
• Quality – Commitment to excellence in all our processes, systems and products
• Teamwork – Working together, succeeding together, respecting each other
• Integrity – Commitment to honest and ethical actions
• Customer Focus – Listening, caring, delivering
• Innovation – Pursuing creative solutions
• Enthusiasm – Having a passion for our work and our interaction with our customers

Vision

The NYISO will be recognized as a leader in:

• Maintaining bulk power reliability through state-of-the-art processes and technology
• Developing and managing an efficient and competitive electricity wholesale market
• Providing authoritative, credible, objective, and accurate information on electricity markets and system operations
• Quality of services in every aspect of our business

Guiding Principles

• Continually strive to make market and reliability requirements complement each other
• Provide a market environment that attracts economically efficient investment in physical infrastructure
• Institutionalize Excellence in Execution within the NYISO
• Maintain independence of our organization in terms of our objectivity on issues that affect our market
• Strictly adhere to existing laws, regulation and tariff requirements
• Foster regulatory certainty and market transparency
• Operate markets in a non-discriminatory manner with the objective of providing reliable service and economically efficient prices
  

The above Vision, Mission, Core Values and Guiding Principles define the company and reflect the perspectives of the NYISO’s Board of Directors, senior management, customers and other stakeholders, and serve as the road map to our future.