Technology and Security
As technology evolves, so does its impact on the power grid. By implementing sophisticated software tools and security applications to keep pace with this evolution, ISO New England is improving our grid’s resilience and mitigating risk in an increasingly complex digital world.
Our information technology and cybersecurity teams engage in a range of initiatives to harness the speed and efficiencies of modern technology while defending our grid against evolving threats.
Advanced Approaches to Markets and Planning
In a grid with more resources than ever before, more complex market features, and increasing security threats, our software platforms must adapt. The ISO is replacing its more than 20-year-old Market Management System with the next Generation Electricity Management (nGEM) to include more responsive technology in our market administration.
Large increases in smaller, distributed energy resources like wind and solar prompted FERC’s Order No. 2222, which removes barriers to these resources’ participation in the energy markets by allowing them to aggregate with other similar resources. New software will allow the ISO to better implement these changes and streamline the way distributed resources supply energy to the grid.
Technological advances also present opportunities for improving the regional transmission system. High-voltage wires and conductors can carry a certain amount of energy, called a transmission line rating, before they sustain significant damage. These maximum line ratings help system operators and planners determine how much electricity can flow in different parts of the grid.FERC’s recent Order No. 881 is designed to more accurately reflect the unique ratings of each grid component during different weather conditions. The ISO is developing software and systems designed to incorporate these more responsive ratings, potentially unlocking unused capacity on transmission lines and creating greater efficiency in the wholesale electricity markets.
Keeping Pace with Growing Complexity
The ISO’s ongoing transition to a cloud computing environment will minimize technology infrastructure maintenance costs, speed deployment of software, increase our flexibility, and enable the faster computing performance needed to reliably operate a modern power system. And the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) presents new opportunities for efficiency for the entire organization. Our policies, governance processes, and staff education are continuously refined to ensure that we — and the grid — can respond to these changes.
Strengthening Our Grid Against Threats
Recognizing the unique risks to grid reliability posed by cyber threats, the ISO has invested heavily in information security since our beginnings. These investments will increase over the next several years, and will improve monitoring, detection, and recovery tools that can keep pace with increasingly sophisticated attacks.