Houston (Platts)--19Dec2012/412 pm EST/2112 GMT
Developing a broader regional strategy is at the center of the New York Independent System Operator's 2013-2017 Strategic Plan, which was released Wednesday following its approval by the ISO's board of directors. "We see a growing need for interregional cooperation among markets to optimize grid operations, enhance market efficiency, implement comprehensive system planning and integrate technological advances into the grid to help consumers realize benefits from competitive wholesale markets," said NYISO Board Chairman Robert Hiney. The need for interregional planning was highlighted in the 2012 five-year plan but not nearly to the extent it is in the most recent plan. Achieving this broader regional strategy, according to the plan, will require: optimizing the economic flow of electricity across borders; coordinating planning processes that facilitate transmission investment; deploying smart grid technologies that maintain system balance; and developing a shared understanding of regional gas delivery constraints for power generation as well as a commitment to address them collaboratively. Among the ISO's strategic initiatives laid out in the plan is to expand gas-electric coordination. The ISO aims to achieve this by, among other things, increasing control room visibility into the operations and maintenance of the gas pipeline systems serving New York generators and also enhancing maintenance coordination between the gas and electric systems to minimize supply disruptions. In addition, the ISO wants to develop a market design for electric energy storage to address generator intermittency and gas pipeline contingencies. Other strategic initiatives in the plan include assessing the relationship of capacity markets and generator retirements to preserve reliability and market efficiency; deploying smart grid technologies that increase situational awareness of regional grid conditions; and enhancing demand response programs.--Allan Schilling, allan_schilling@platts.com --Edited by Katharine Fraser, katharine_fraser@platts.com