RTO Insider reports that ISO-NE will reopen its interconnection queue on April 1, after it was closed last year due to delays in FERC's ruling on its Order 2023 compliance proposal. While the RTO had paused work on interconnection reforms, continued uncertainty has led it to revert to the existing "first-come, first-serve" process. United's Alex Lawton urged FERC to act quickly, warning that further delays could hinder the timely integration of new energy resources and increase costs for ratepayers.
ISO-NE plans to reopen its interconnection queue April 1 as it continues to wait for a ruling from FERC on its Order 2023 compliance proposal, the RTO told the NEPOOL Transmission Committee on March 26.
The queue has been closed since June 13, 2024, which was the RTO’s proposed deadline for projects to have a valid interconnection request to participate in the transition cluster study, which would be the first cluster study run under the new interconnection procedures established by Order 2023.
ISO-NE requested an effective date of Aug. 12, 2024, in its compliance proposal but suspended its work to implement the interconnection changes in September 2024 because of the lack of a ruling from FERC. (See With FERC Inaction, ISO-NE Delays Order 2023 Implementation.)
Given the uncertainty around when and how FERC will rule on ISO-NE’s compliance, the RTO now has opted to reopen the queue and will continue to process requests under the existing “first-come, first-served” study process.
Alex Rost, director of transmission services at ISO-NE, said reopening the queue will enable interconnection customers to submit requests needed to participate in the 2025 interim reconfiguration auction (RA) qualification process.
However, Rost stressed that ISO-NE “cannot guarantee the treatment of [interconnection requests] submitted after the June 13, 2024, eligibility date set by Order No. 2023 until FERC issues an order [that] addresses the eligibility date.”
Also starting on April 1, ISO-NE no longer will allow customers to pause studies that are being processed under the existing serial interconnection rules. The pause was intended to enable resources that did not expect to complete their interconnection studies prior to the transitional cluster to avoid unnecessary study costs.
“Given the indefinite delay in FERC action on the compliance proposal and continuing serial studies, the ISO can no longer allow study pauses without potentially impacting lower-queued projects,” Rost said.
ISO-NE also said it likely will not be able to run a transitional capacity network resource (CNR) group study in coordination with the 2025 interim RA qualification process.
The CNR study was intended to help projects with complete system impact studies — but without capacity interconnection rights — to participate in capacity auctions on a shorter timeline.
The RTO had said it would need an order from FERC by the end of March to align the CNR group study with the 2025 interim RA qualification process, which includes a show of interest submission deadline at the end of April. (See New England Generators Remain in Limbo on Interconnection Reform.)
ISO-NE previously aimed to run the CNR group study in coordination with its 2024 interim RA qualification process. Missing the deadline for 2025 qualification creates significant uncertainty for resources hoping to join the study and could result in the elimination or significant delay of the CNR group study.
In recent months, stakeholders urged FERC to rule on ISO-NE’s compliance proposal as quickly as possible.
Flatiron Energy wrote in February that missing the end-of-March deadline “increases the chances that further process changes are necessary and thereby increases the chances that the transitional CNR group study and transitional cluster study are delayed.”
Delays to the CNR study and transitional cluster study would threaten the ability of resources in the queue to come online for the 2028/29 capacity commitment period (CCP 19), Flatiron wrote.
The company estimated 3 GW of projects eligible for the CNR study are proposed to come online before the start of CCP 19.
The New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE) wrote in November 2024 that the delay undermines “the efficient and timely interconnection of new resources” and urged FERC to act quickly “to help alleviate the interconnection queue backlogs and uncertainty that continues to exist in New England.”
Clean energy trade associations RENEW Northeast, Advanced Energy United, the New Hampshire Office of the Consumer Advocate and several environmental advocacy groups all submitted comments echoing the concerns of Flatiron and NESCOE.
In response to ISO-NE’s announcement March 26, Alex Lawton of Advanced Energy United said that “unless FERC issues an order within the next few days, the region will face cascading delays to our desperately needed interconnection reforms, which will result in more challenges to how and when new resources can come online.”
“Given the centrality of a functional interconnection process to ensuring reliable and affordable electricity, ratepayers will ultimately bear the cost of further delays,” Lawton added.
Read the full article here.