NYISO BLOG

What is the “Grid of the Future?” And how are we at the New York ISO supporting New York’s transition to a zero-emissions grid? In the first episode of our new documentary series, we discuss the path to a clean energy future, with interviews from former FERC Chairman Norman Bay and New York ISO leaders.

The New York ISO (Independent System Operator) is an independent, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation responsible for operating the state’s bulk electricity grid. We are not a regulator, nor an entity of New York State. We operate the grid under the strictest reliability rules in the nation and under the oversight of state and federal regulators to keep the lights on for all New Yorkers.

The U.S. Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, recently toured the New York ISO during a visit of upstate New York that focused on the growing clean energy ecosystem.

As the energy grid is changing, so too is how we talk about it.

The New York State Climate Leadership & Community Protection Act (CLCPA) sets the stage for aggressive state action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote expansion of renewable, distributed energy, and energy storage resources.

We’ve just released a new report, the Comprehensive Reliability Plan, which looks at the New York energy grid over the next 10 years and determines if there are any factors that could impact our ability to keep the lights on for all.

Running the energy grid in New York takes skilled engineers, grid operators, and economists. But the largest part of our workforce is actually the team of software developers, database administrators, networking experts, and other professionals that make up our IT department.

As clean energy resources continue to grow in New York state, expanding our transmission network is vital to making sure that new renewable energy (mostly located upstate) can get to where we need it most (mostly downstate).

The NYISO is responsible for planning the power system to prepare for future reliability risks.

As we move into the coldest months of the year, we're engaged with suppliers, utilities and transmission owners to make sure the system is ready for extreme winter conditions.

The energy industry, by all accounts, is at a crossroads. New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) promises sweeping changes in the way we operate the electric system, while national climate policy and decarbonization has become a major focal point of the 117th United States Congress.

Every two years, the nation’s largest grid security exercise, GridEx, is conducted by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). GridEx is a grid security simulation that takes place across North America, allowing utilities and organizations such as the NYISO to test their response to and recovery from simulated, coordinated, cyber and physical security threats and incidents.

The NYISO has always been a welcoming workplace to military veterans. Nearly 50 vets are currently employed here, in roles ranging from operations to engineering, finance to cybersecurity.

When Wes Yeomans speaks, people in the energy industry listen. The Vice President of Operations, Wes has three decades of energy industry experience, including more than 10 years at the NYISO.

With more than 1,500 megawatts of grid-scale solar proposed for New York’s energy grid, we’ve launched a new program that will help enhance grid reliability by increasing the flexibility and predictability of this clean energy resource.

As renewable technology advances, record numbers of new, clean energy resources are requesting to connect to the grid. Our System and Resource Planning group is responsible for evaluating projects’ impacts to the electric system.

Gil C. Quiniones, President and CEO of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), has transformed the organization and he has a lot to say about the grid of the future. The internationally-recognized leader in the power industry oversees a quarter of New York’s energy generation and a third of its transmission.

Our latest eBook, How Markets Support Climate & Policy Goals, details the role our competitive energy, capacity and ancillary markets play in delivering the grid of the future and our role helping New York meet its goals of a zero-emission energy grid.

Anne Reynolds joined the Alliance for Clean Energy New York (ACE NY) as Executive Director in 2014. But she has spent her career working on clean energy and environmental issues, including on numerous state programs to help ease the transition to emission-free resources in New York.

Our Power Trends 2021 report outlines our commitment to maintaining grid reliability in these times of change while detailing how the power grid is evolving to meet public policy objectives.