Massachusetts is seeking to enlist the Department of Energy in an effort to develop a new approach to the development of interregional transmission coordination.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey and Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll last week submitted a request to the Department of Energy on behalf of all the New England states, New York, and New Jersey to form a Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission.
Greater interconnectivity between regions lowers prices for consumers through a larger marketplace for low-cost clean energy generation, bolsters reliability during periods of extreme weather and system stress, and increases access to renewable energy to meet decarbonization requirements, the governor’s office said in a statement.
The request was signed by Massachusetts and seven other states: Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
The Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission would be supported by DOE funding and technical expertise.
Under the proposed structure, the DOE would lead the states in planning activities that may include investigating opportunities for mutually beneficial options for increasing the flow of electricity between three different planning regions – ISO New England, the New York Independent System Operator, and the PJM Interconnection – in the Northeast and assessing offshore wind infrastructure needs and solutions.
Massachusetts’ Clean Energy and Climate Plans calls for a modernized and expanded transmission system to achieve the state’s transition to a clean energy future by, among other things, increasing the transmission capacity between Massachusetts and neighboring regions.
