Industrial Info Tracking 39 New England Transmission & Distribution Projects

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Independent System Operator (ISO) New England (Holyoke, Massachusetts) is responsible for ensuring that the electrical grid in the region has reliable, competitively priced wholesale power generation. The New England Power Pool is responsible for insuring the bulk power supply conforms to proper standards of reliability, and sustains competitive markets and provides market rules to promote voluntary participation. ISO New England includes Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island.

Industrial Info is tracking 39 transmission and distribution projects in the New England market region valued at $2.95 billion. New Hampshire leads with seven projects valued at $2.1 billion, followed by Connecticut with seven projects valued at $312 million, and Massachusetts with 16 projects valued at $249 million.

ISO New England recently released a report, which stated that 25 transmission and distribution projects have been placed into service since March 2015, including 13 projects that completed Central Maine Power's (Augusta, Maine) (part of the Iberdrola group (Bilbao, Spain)) Maine Reliability Program, a $1.4 billion dollar investment in the state's bulk power transmission system.

In the New England market region, the estimated costs of active future projects totals approximately $4.6 billion, with a cumulative investment of $11.7 billion from 2002 through 2019, according to ISO New England.

Customers in the New England market region are experiencing fewer and shorter power outages as a result of the investment in the upgrades to the electrical grid, and also are seeing savings associated with grid reliability. Over time, the upgrades would help to detect and isolate grid outages faster and with better response times.

The largest transmission projects in the New England market region being tracked by Industrial Info are the Northern Pass 300-kilovolt (kV) high-voltage, direct-current (HVDC) border-to-Franklin transmission line in New Hampshire, valued at $785 million; and the 345-kV Interstate Reliability transmission line, valued at $218 million. Both projects are owned by Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) (Hartford, Connecticut).

Recent studies reports by ISO New England concluded that Connecticut remains the number one area of concern, due to lack of transmission infrastructure to provide adequate reliability to customers. In spite of recent improvements, the existing transmission system can neither provide significant generation expansion, nor fully utilize the regional generating resources during times of need. Also, Vermont faces reliability problems, due to weak links with the main electrical transmission system and lack of power generating plants in the region.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.