1965-2024: New York Independent System Operator Historical Timeline

December 1, 2024 marks twenty-five years since competitive wholesale electricity markets first opened for business in New York. The NYISO was charged with the responsibility to design, deploy, administer, and monitor the electricity marketplace under a system of shared governance that provides all stakeholders a voice in the operation of the grid and the evolution of the marketplace.

This timeline looks back with pride at power system reliability and our progress to deliver competitive markets for a clean energy future, as our mission states.

2024

November | A new record for wind generation of 2,213 MW is established at 1 p.m. on November 8. 

August | A new record of 4,092 MW for combined behind-the-meter and front-of-meter solar generation is established at noon on August 24.

August | NYISO launches the first new cluster study process as an evolution of the reliability study process associated with the historic influx of new energy projects and economic development projects looking to connect to New York’s grid.

April | A first-in-the-nation program is launched to integrate Distributed Energy Resources such as small-scale solar arrays, residential batteries, and electric vehicles into the wholesale electricity market to provide reliability benefits and other important services to the grid.

2023

October | Consistent with our mission and vision, NYISO launches an Information for Policymakers web page to inform key audiences on grid operations, planning, and market enhancements necessary maintain a reliable grid during a transition of the system.

September | The NYISO Board of Directors names Emilie Nelson Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, leading Operations, System & Resource Planning and Market Structures.

June | The NYISO Board of Directors selects a transmission project to meet the Long Island Offshore Wind Export Public Policy Transmission Need following the declaration of a public policy need by the New York State Public Service Commission to help meet public policy goals. The project is required to be in-service by May 2030 and will ultimately benefit energy consumers by providing expanded transmission capability. 

January | Recognizing the importance of interconnecting new energy resources to the grid as quickly and as safely as possible, the NYISO launches the 2023 Class Year, one month after the completion of the previous process.

2022

May | NYISO acts to remove a significant barrier to renewable development and minimize electricity costs with proposed market rule changes for buyer-side mitigation. The rules are designed to further open wholesale electricity markets to significant investment in wind, solar, and battery storage development.

March | NYISO launches the Dynamic Reserve market design initiative to facilitate more efficient and cost-effective scheduling of operating reserves to reliably integrate clean energy resources into grid operations.

February | NYISO launches its documentary-style, Grid of the Future video series exploring the challenges and opportunities in pursuit of reliable, clean energy. The series features notable energy experts including former FERC commissioners and NYISO senior leadership.

2021

November | NYISO unveils its new mission, vision, and core values in its 2021 Strategic Plan. The new mission is succinct and clear: “Ensure power system reliability and competitive markets for New York in a clean energy future.” Our vision statement asserts our intention to “Work together with stakeholders to build the cleanest, most reliable electric system in the nation.” Together, these elements communicate and guide us during a time of great change for the electric system.

2020

September | NYISO Implements industry-leading rules for Energy Storage Resources (ESRs) to participate in our markets and open revenue streams that will attract greater private investment in these resources. ESRs, which include batteries, flywheels, pumped storage, and compressed air storage, have unique capabilities that can help grid operators meet demand, manage the variability of intermittent resources, and potentially defer transmission upgrades.

April | NYISO is the first grid operator in the nation to sequester control room operators and support staff to protect grid operations during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. This historic action was broadly covered in the media including the Washington Post.

March | Coal, which accounted for 16% of New York’s electricity net generation in 2000, officially exits the state’s fuel mix with the closure of the last coal-fired generator, Somerset power plant north of Buffalo.

January | The NYISO culminates a multi-year rebranding effort with the launch of a new logo.

2019

July | The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) requires the state’s electric grid to be carbon-emissions free by 2040.

July | NYISO announces a new partnership with University at Albany’s advanced weather detection system, New York State Mesonet, that improves our ability to integrate photovoltaic power into the New York electric grid.

July | The Power Trends Podcast launches Episode 1: Climate Leadership & NY Policy, featuring a discussion with President and CEO Rich Dewey on how the NYISO is prepared to meet industry changes through wholesale electric markets.

May | NYISO names Richard J. Dewey President and CEO. In naming Rich to the role, the Board of Directors cites his impressive track record of performance-driven results in a number of senior management roles throughout his career at the NYISO, and his deep understanding of the business, electric industry, and the markets we operate. At a pivotal time for the NYISO and competitive electric markets, Rich’s proven success and strategic vision are recognized as critical to guiding the company successfully into the future.

April | The NYISO Board selects two transmission projects that will benefit consumers by increasing deliverability of clean energy and relieving congestion on the transmission system. This AC Transmission Project was developed through the NYISO’s Public Policy Transmission Planning Process and has proven critical to supporting the state’s clean energy goals. 

2018

December | NYISO launches a new website to provide easier access to grid-related publications, reports and studies. The site includes a more user-friendly search engine, real-time power delivery data, and other materials related to managing New York's electric grid. The website will further emphasize the organization’s history of independence and transparency in its role as an authoritative source of information on New York’s grid.

2017

October | The NYISO Board selects the NextEra transmission project to increase access to hydro power in the first selection of a transmission project by the NYISO using the Public Policy Transmission Planning Process approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under Order No. 1000. It supports New York State public policy requirements to more fully utilize renewable energy from the Robert Moses Niagara Hydroelectric Power Station as well as imports from Ontario. While maximizing the flow of energy from renewable resources, the transmission upgrades are expected to provide reliability, environmental and economic benefits including: improving transmission security, reducing emissions, and increasing consumer access to lower-cost resources.

June | NYISO establishes a new Operating Reserve Region (Zone J) for New York City to provide more efficient resource scheduling and procurement, and location-specific price signals and investment incentives.

February | NYISO develops market rules for an alternative methodology to determine Locational Minimum Installed Capacity Requirements to minimize the total New York Control Area capacity costs while producing a lower cost solution.

2015

October | NYISO names Bradley C. Jones President and Chief Executive Officer.

2014

April | The NYISO and PJM implement a key component of the Broader Regional Markets initiative with the launch of Market-to-Market Congestion Relief Coordination. In its first year, the initiative saves an estimated $4.7 million.

April | U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko attend the NYISO opening of our 64,000-square-foot primary power control center featuring advanced digital monitoring technologies. The center features a 2,300-square-foot video wall that provides more than 3,000 live data points used to assist operators in forecasting and mitigating potential system disturbances.

January | New York sets a winter peak demand record of 25,738 MW on January 17.

2013

July | New York sets all-time peak demand record of 33,955 MW between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. on July 19 following a week-long heat wave.

2012

October | NYISO plays a crucial role in Superstorm Sandy preparation and recovery efforts in working with the Transmission Owners, the Northeast Power Coordinating Council, and the generation companies. Over 2 million electric customers lose power in New York and there are over 90 transmission outages while an additional 5.6 million outages occur in ISO-NE and PJM service areas. Numerous transmission substations are pre-emptively isolated to minimize damage. Power system recovery efforts and coordination continue for days. 

2011

August | NYISO Unveils $74 Million Smart Grid Initiative. Dozens of federal, state and local government officials and energy industry representatives, including U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and U.S. Representative Paul Tonko, are on hand to unveil details of a $74 million smart grid initiative, supported by a U.S. Department of Energy Smart Grid Investment Grant of more than $37 million.

August | The NYISO held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction of its new $35.5 million primary power control center. The 64,000-square-foot control center at the NYISO’s Krey Boulevard site will serve as the primary operational nerve center for the non-profit NYISO, which oversees New York’s bulk electricity grid and wholesale electricity markets. The new facility replaces the NYISO’s existing control center in Guilderland. That facility’s systems will be upgraded, allowing the NYISO to meet the requirement of having a fully functional primary and backup control center.

2009

February | NYISO observes a wind power milestone as the combined total output of all wind plants in New York reaches 1,000 MW for the first time. 

2008

June | Stephen G. Whitley is named the NYISO’s President and CEO.

2006

August | NYISO sets a new peak demand record of 33,452 MW between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on August 2.

2005

February | Mark S. Lynch is named the NYISO’s President and CEO.

February | The NYISO deploys industry-leading Standard Market Design, its most ambitious project since the creation of the state’s electric markets. SMD2, as the project is known, replaced existing computing platforms with a new, state-of-the-art Real-Time Scheduling (RTS) system that created new efficiencies between the Day-Ahead market and the Real-Time dispatch of electric power. The new system has the capacity to support transmission system growth, and accept future market software enhancements, which were beyond the capacity of the old system.
 

2004

August | NYISO establishes its Comprehensive Planning Process for identifying Reliability Needs on a ten-year planning cycle. The Plan establishes a roadmap by which the NYISO, with input from its stakeholders, including Transmission Owners, generators, developers of merchant transmission, and demand response resources and the New York State Public Service Commission will identify and resolve reliability issues affecting the New York electric system.

June | The NYISO creates the Environmental Advisory Council to inform NYISO leadership on evolving state and federal environmental policies, including climate policies and environmental justice considerations, to enhance the fulfillment of the NYISO’s mission.

2003

August | A transmission line fault in Ohio caused by contact with a tree cascaded into one of the largest power outages in North American history, plunging more than 50 million people into darkness. Economic losses were estimated to reach as much as $10 billion. This historic event is the subject of our GOTF 3: Keeping the Lights On video with Rick Gonzales, NYISO’s former Chief Operating Officer, as he recalls the 24-hour effort to get the lights back on in New York.

July | The NYISO approves System Reliability Impact Study (SRIS) criteria and procedures for evaluating the impact of new generation facilities. The objectives of the SRIS are to: confirm that the proposed generation complies with current reliability standards, assess impacts on grid reliability including ways to eliminate adverse impacts, and to assess impacts on transmission transfer limits.

1999

December | On December 1, 1999, NYISO officially takes control of New York’s electric power system with a charge to design, deploy, administer, and monitor New York’s wholesale electricity marketplace. NYISO also assumes management of the bulk electricity grid from the New York Power Pool. Prior to NYISO’s formation, New York’s electric industry was a set of eight large entities — six private, investor-owned utility companies, and two state-owned power authorities. When New York transitioned to a competitive wholesale marketplace with the NYISO at the helm, private producers, energy service companies, and others entered the market.

William J. Museler is named the NYISO’s first President and CEO.

1998

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorizes the creation of the NYISO and with it, the establishment of Locational Based Marginal Pricing (LBMP) in competitive wholesale electricity markets. Goals of LBMP included: access to the transmission system based on prices that reflected the actual cost of meeting load, a pricing system that supports reliability with financial incentives consistent with the system operators dispatch instructions, and an efficient price signal for actions by consumers and suppliers that would be consistent with system conditions. LBMP provides comparable access and pricing to all users by pricing energy and transmission on a locational marginal basis. 

1997

The New York Power Pool files a proposal to form the NYISO, aiming to create competitive markets and improve grid reliability. FERC requires a governance structure with an independent board of directors unaffiliated with any market participants in New York’s power market.

1996 

FERC Order 888 requires utilities to provide open and non-discriminatory access to their transmission networks and maintain transparency in their operations. This helps to foster a competitive electricity market in New York State and establish the framework for Independent System Operators (ISOs).

1977 

The New York Power Pool introduces real-time economic dispatch of generation every five minutes, improving the economic efficiency of the grid in New York.

1969

New York Power Pool Control Center begins operations in Schenectady New York to manage the flow of electricity across the State of New York as described in this video from the Museum of Science and Innovation.

  
 

1965

The Northeast Blackout of 1965 affects over 30 million people in the U.S. and Canada. In response to the blackout, New York's seven investor-owned utility companies establish the New York Power Pool to improve grid reliability.