2015 ISO/RTO Metrics Report
Summary
November 2015
ISO/RTO Metrics Report – Background
Independent system operators (ISOs) and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) that are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) prepare the ISO/RTO Metrics Report.
At FERC’s direction, the report provides information on various data points common to each of the system operators.
Further history: The ISO/RTO Metrics Report originated in 2008 with a review by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) at the request of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The GAO recommended that the FERC work with ISOs/RTOs and others to standardize measures that track the performance of ISO/RTO operations and markets, and to report the performance results to Congress and the public.
The ISOs and RTOs submitted the report in response to the FERC’s “Request for Information on Common Performance Metrics for RTOs and ISOs and Utilities Outside RTO and ISO Regions” (August 17, 2015).
This Report includes the 30 Common Metrics and “Other Metrics Specific to ISO and RTO Performance” identified in the Commission Staff “Common Metrics Report” issued on August 26, 2014.
The ISO/RTO Metrics Report presents RTO information serially, not comparatively.
NESCOE prepared these with RTO data to provide a comparative look at some of the issues.
ISO/RTO Overview
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ISO/RTO Background Information
| ISO/RTO | Installed Generation (MW) | Miles of Transmission Lines | Population (millions) |
| CAISO | 57,124 | 26,000 | 30 |
| ISO-NE | 31,000 | 8,600 | 14 |
| MISO | 180,006 | 65,800 | 48 |
| NYISO | 39,039 | 11,086 | 20 |
| PJM | 183,604 | 62,556 | 61 |
| SPP | 58,982 | 50,575 | 15 |
Metric Interpretation – Comparability
Information must be assessed in the proper context – a number of factors influence the data and could result in variations among the ISOs/RTOs:
- Geographic diversity of the control area
- Different reliability planning standards
- Tariff requirements, e.g., interconnection studies
- Regional resource mixes – natural resource availability, and associated political, economic, and environmental factors
- Prevailing weather patterns, demographic trends, and economic conditions
Fuel Diversity
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Capacity
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Energy
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Renewable and Hydro Resources
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Generator Performance
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Market Pricing – Energy
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Market Pricing – Components
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Market Competitiveness
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Generator Interconnection – Time
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Generator Interconnection -Studies
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Transmission for Reliability
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ISO New England in Detail
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