New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Meeting Summary: Wholesale Markets and the Clean-Energy Transition

On March 22, 2024, Foley Hoag hosted the latest gathering of the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable. The Roundtable, which has been meeting regularly since 1995, was originally organized to contemplate the changes wrought by the restructuring of the electric power industry. Nearly three decades later, the Roundtable continues to feature leading industry thinkers, regulators, policymakers, and businesspeople from across the Northeast and across the country. The March 22, 2024 meeting of the Roundtable, entitled “Preparing the Electricity System and Wholesale Markets for a Reliable, Affordable, and Decarbonized Future,” addressed one of the most pressing issues facing the industry during the clean-energy transition: the proper role and design of wholesale markets.

Further, improvements to existing transmission infrastructure, and to regulatory incentives around transmission management and development, can draw value out of the grid assets we already have, pointed out Liz Anderson, Chief of the Energy & Ratepayer Advocacy Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and Dan Sosland, President of the Acadia Center. 

The challenge of creating markets capable of maintaining system reliability while decarbonizing and growing the electric power sector is great, but the revolution now underway also offers tremendous opportunities. As Mr. Sosland noted near the end of the Roundtable:

“Look at what we’re trying to accomplish together—it’s historic.”

To read the full article from Foley Hoag, click here.