NEW ENGLAND STATES COMMITTEE ON ELECTRICITY INC

THROUGHOUT 2024, NESCOE REPRESENTED THE COLLECTIVE VIEWS OF THE NEW ENGLAND STATES, AND REGULARLY PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN SUBSTANTIVE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL STAKEHOLDER FORUMS. THIS INCLUDED NESCOE'S REGULAR PARTICIPATION IN NEW ENGLAND POWER POOL'S PARTICIPANTS, RELIABILITY, TRANSMISSION, AND MARKETS COMMITTEE MEETINGS. NESCOE ALSO OFFERED PROPOSALS IN CONNECTION WITH PLANNING AND MARKET RULE CHANGES TO ADVANCE CONSUMER INTERESTS AND STATES' SHARED ENERGY OBJECTIVES. ADDITIONALLY, NESCOE PARTICIPATED IN ISO NEW ENGLAND'S PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND POWER SUPPLY PLANNING COMMITTEE. NESCOE ALSO MONITORED VARIOUS WORKING GROUPS. IN 2024, NESCOE PARTICIPATED IN ISO NEW ENGLAND FORUMS AND FEDERAL JURISDICTIONAL MATTERS CONCERNING RESOURCE ADEQUACY AND SYSTEM PLANNING- RELATED ISSUES WITH SIGNIFICANT IMPLICATIONS FOR NEW ENGLAND CONSUMERS. IN 2024, NESCOE WAS ACTIVE IN VARIOUS TRANSMISSION-RELATED MATTERS. FOR EXAMPLE, NESCOE WAS ACTIVE IN DEVELOPING, TOGETHER WITH ISO-NE AND STAKEHOLDERS, A STATE-DRIVEN, ISO-NE STUDY-BASED SOLUTIONS PROCESS. THIS PROCESS (1) ALLOWS ISO-NE AND NESCOE, WITH STAKEHOLDER INPUT, TO CHOOSE WHICH TRANSMISSION SYSTEM CONCERNS TO ADDRESS THROUGH A COMPETITIVE SOLICITATION AND (2) INCLUDES A METHODOLOGY TO SELECT A PROJECT AND ALLOCATE COSTS BASED ON A COMPREHENSIVE EVALUATION OF PROJECT COSTS AND BENEFITS. SUBSEQUENTLY, IN LATE 2024, NESCOE ADVANCED ITS FIRST SOLICITATION REQUEST TO ISO-NE TO MEET THE LONG-STANDING NEED TO STRENGTHEN THE CONNECTION BETWEEN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND AND TO FACILITATE THE DELIVERABILITY OF LOWER-COST GENERATION LOCATED IN MAINE. IN 2024, NESCOE SPENT CONSIDERABLE TIME WORKING TO IMPROVE THE TRANSPARENCY AROUND AND OVERSIGHT OF ASSET CONDITION SPENDING. CONCURRENTLY, NESCOE ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE EVALUATION OF PROPOSED ASSET CONDITION PROJECTS PRESENTED TO THE PLANNING ADVISORY COMMITTEE. IN 2024, TO PROMOTE ADDITIONAL TRANSPARENCY IN ELECTRICITY RATES AND TO PROTECT CONSUMERS, NESCOE CONDUCTED AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE TRANSMISSION OWNERS' REGIONAL NETWORK SERVICE RATE ANNUAL UPDATE FILING. FOLLOWING ITS INVESTIGATION, NESCOE MADE SEVERAL INFORMAL CHALLENGES UNDER THE REGION'S FORMULA RATE PROTOCOLS, MANY OF WHICH RESULTED IN SAVINGS TO CONSUMERS. IN 2024, NESCOE PRODUCED A DATA CENTER PRIMER TO REVIEW THE OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES OF DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT AT A VERY HIGH LEVEL. AS IN PAST YEARS, IN 2024, NESCOE DEDICATED TIME TO ADVOCATING FOR NEW ENGLAND CONSUMER INTERESTS IN CONNECTION WITH A UNIQUE COST-OF-SERVICE CONTRACT FOR TWO RETIRING GENERATING UNITS LOCATED JUST OUTSIDE OF BOSTON. THROUGHOUT 2024, NESCOE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH OTHER INTERVENORS UNDER THE PROTOCOLS FOR THE REMAINING YEAR OF THE CONTRACT. THIS INCLUDED A FINAL GLOBAL SETTLEMENT THAT WAS FILED WITH FERC IN LATE 2024, INCLUDED ADDITIONAL REDUCTIONS TO THE REVENUE REQUIREMENT BEYOND THOSE PREVIOUSLY NEGOTIATED. THROUGHOUT 2024, NESCOE ENGAGED IN A SERIES OF ONGOING MARKET DEVELOPMENT MATTERS, INCLUDING FUNDAMENTAL CAPACITY MARKET REFORMS.