NESCOE

The New England states and ISO-New England, which manages the region’s electric grid, are taking steps to keep the lights on during polar vortex events until new natural gas pipeline capacity through New England comes online. They also are making progress on an effort to have electric customers pay to help support new pipeline capacity developed specifically to serve gas-fired units. But while new gas-fired generation is being built in the region to replace older coal (and nuclear) capacity being retired, gas’s role in New England electricity production may well be stymied by a push to import large amounts of eastern Canadian hydroelectric power. Today we examine how New England is playing gas against hydro, and how the outlook for gas consumption by generators may be less bullish than some think.

The polar vortex events this past winter provided a jolting reminder to New England’s electricity sector that natural gas transmission infrastructure in the increasingly gas-dependent region needs further expansion. A comprehensive plan to ensure reliable electric supplies to Red Sox Nation for years to come is not yet in place, but more near-term fixes are being implemented and the elements of a long-term plan—new gas pipelines and new hydroelectric imports chief among them--are taking shape. Today we provide an update on gas-electric issues in New England.