Small, expensive and winter-gas-constrained, with an offshore-wind-heavy pipeline slow to land. Workable, not a magnet.
See live grid data →Why: FERC's 18 June 2026 Section 206 show-cause order requires ISO-NE to justify or reform how large loads connect, in a capacity-constrained, high-cost system where new demand competes for tight winter adequacy.
What would change the read: A Section 206 outcome that opens a workable large-load pathway without eroding ISO-NE's already tight capacity margin.
Workable access with faster studies than most US ISOs (~3.6 yr), but a small, constrained system.
Tight availability, especially winter gas constraints.
Not assessed. The region-wide delivered-cost estimate was withdrawn under #320: regional transmission of about $21.57/MWh is verified and tariff-derived, but local transmission, distribution and demand charges are set by 32 serving utilities across six states, so no single ISO-NE figure exists. The verified partial is deliberately not scored, because a fraction of a delivered cost read as a whole one would flatter the pillar.
Lower momentum; offshore-wind-led pipeline is slow.
Carbon moderate (~240 g).
Average customer interruption (SAIDI) of 112.25 minutes per year in 2024, excluding major event days as filed.
The market figure above is an average across these territories. A project sits in one of them, not in the average. Each row is that operator’s own filed record; once a candidate site is matched to a territory, that row is the evidence that applies to it.
| Territory operator | SAIDI min/yr | Customers | Major-event method |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSTAR Electric Company (MA) | 66.1 | 1,462,127 | IEEE 1366 |
| Massachusetts Electric Co (MA) | 90.72 | 1,345,044 | IEEE 1366 |
| Connecticut Light & Power Co (CT) | 76.9 | 1,326,461 | IEEE 1366 |
| Central Maine Power Co (ME) | 215.4 | 679,726 | IEEE 1366 |
| Public Service Co of NH (NH) | 81.5 | 551,456 | IEEE 1366 |
| The Narragansett Electric Co (RI) | 60.79 | 509,231 | IEEE 1366 |
| United Illuminating Co (CT) | 49.2 | 345,159 | IEEE 1366 |
| Green Mountain Power Corp (VT) | 281.4 | 275,233 | own method |
| Versant Power (ME) | 478.0 | 165,401 | IEEE 1366 |
| New Hampshire Elec Coop Inc (NH) | 514.88 | 85,138 | own method |
| Unitil Energy Systems (NH) | 97.66 | 79,654 | IEEE 1366 |
| Liberty Utilities (Granite State Electri (NH) | 92.69 | 45,565 | IEEE 1366 |
| Vermont Electric Cooperative, Inc (VT) | 231.8 | 40,741 | IEEE 1366 |
| City of Taunton (MA) | 192.98 | 39,242 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of Reading - (MA) (MA) | 23.24 | 32,638 | IEEE 1366 |
| Fitchburg Gas & Elec Light Co (MA) | 64.6 | 30,873 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of Wallingford - (CT) (CT) | 37.15 | 25,100 | own method |
| City of Norwich - (CT) (CT) | 287.98 | 20,898 | IEEE 1366 |
| City of Westfield - (MA) (MA) | 46.12 | 18,194 | IEEE 1366 |
| City of Holyoke - (MA) (MA) | 61.58 | 17,557 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of Middleborough - (MA) (MA) | 19.14 | 16,991 | own method |
| Town of Shrewsbury - (MA) (MA) | 16.6 | 16,986 | own method |
| Town of Braintree - (MA) (MA) | 2.53 | 16,598 | IEEE 1366 |
| City of Norwood - (MA) (MA) | 24.8 | 16,301 | IEEE 1366 |
| Groton Dept of Utilities - (CT) (CT) | 22.48 | 14,149 | IEEE 1366 |
| Nantucket Electric Co (MA) | 50.4 | 13,995 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of North Attleborough - (MA) (MA) | 5.95 | 13,894 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of Hudson - (MA) (MA) | 72.39 | 13,515 | own method |
| Town of Danvers (MA) | 18.0 | 13,425 | own method |
| Eastern Maine Electric Coop (ME) | 737.19 | 13,213 | IEEE 1366 |
| Town of Mansfield - (MA) (MA) | 9.96 | 10,504 | IEEE 1366 |
| Bozrah Light & Power Company (CT) | 184.12 | 2,791 | IEEE 1366 |
Filed to EIA Form 861 for 2024, excluding major event days. Territory-wide averages: see the layer note above for what they do not establish.
NERC's 2024 assessment rates New England elevated-risk: persistent winter natural-gas constraints plus electrification-driven demand growth could raise shortfall risk by 2026, and extreme cold could challenge reliability further.
What this means: A large new load should expect genuine exposure to forced power cuts (curtailment), price spikes, and delays in getting connected, and should design in backup power or firm supply contracts.
assessed · NERC 2024 Long-Term Reliability Assessment
We have not compiled what firm service actually promises here: whether it is firm, non-firm or interruptible, the conditions under which you can be curtailed, the redundancy required of you, and the transfer time behind any N-1 commitment. Treat this as an open diligence item, not as an indication that service is firm.
Utility feeds, UPS, storage, on-site generation, islanding, black start and the residual energy you still expect to lose are properties of a specific site design, not of a market. This layer only exists once there is a site, and we never assert it for you.
What this means: The supply picture looks likely to tighten; a new load should lock firm supply early and expect competition for capacity.
The average customer loses about 112.25 minutes of power per year (2024). This is the standard regulator outage measure (SAIDI); lower means a more reliable grid.
Averaged across 32 territories. No single customer experiences this figure. The per-territory table in the reliability overlay above gives each operator’s own filed record, which is what a site-specific read needs.
15 GW
55 months
The full queue analysis for this market, which covers the share of projects that give up and leave the queue (the withdrawal rate), how much of the queue is data centers, and the sources, is available through /api/v1/queue/isone with a paid key. These are generation and storage queue figures: they show interconnection-system congestion, not a typical large-load connection wait.
Moderate
$3.58 per kW-month
2027/28 (FCA 18)
ISO New England's most recent capacity auction cleared at $3.58 per kW-month for 2027/28, up roughly 40%. The next auction is delayed to 2028, so this is the standing forward signal.
Source: ISO-NE Forward Capacity Auction 18 (Utility Dive). A derived indicator: we publish the public clearing price and our read, never paywalled exchange data.
PowerGridIQ can verify approximately $21.57/MWh of current regional ISO-NE transmission charges for the standard archetype. A complete delivered-cost estimate is not available at the ISO-NE-wide level because local transmission, distribution and demand charges vary across 32 serving utilities and multiple state jurisdictions.
| Regional Network Service (OATT Schedule 9) | $21.34 | $177.62722/kW-yr, through 2026-12-31 |
| Scheduling, System Control and Dispatch (OATT Schedule 1) | $0.23 | $1.87420/kW-yr, from 2026-06-01 |
Complete delivered cost: insufficient evidence.
Next step. Identify the serving utility for the specific interconnection point and apply its current local transmission and distribution tariff. These are set at the utility and state level and exist nowhere regionally.
This figure is not a delivered-cost total; a cost-band midpoint; the low end of a band; a substitute for the withdrawn estimate; an input to the cost pillar.
Regional transmission rises to $22.29/MWh on 2027-01-01 (Pool RNS Rate rises to $183.59911/kW-yr).
Region-wide estimate withdrawn (#320). A single delivered-cost estimate cannot be defended at ISO-NE-wide scope. The regional transmission layer is uniform and verifiable, but local transmission, distribution and retail demand charges are set by 32 serving utilities across six states and five regulators. The superseded values are recorded in the correction record, not here.
Restored when: A serving utility and interconnection point are specified, so a local transmission and distribution tariff can be applied. This is a change of scope rather than a research task: no ISO-NE-wide figure will become available, because ISO-NE is not the entity that sets one. Withdrawn 2026-08-24. Correction record →
High
3 of 3 data layers measured
Substantial
2 of 3 dimensions: reliability, connection, cost
June 2026
per-layer vintages below
| Layer | Method | Vintage | Freshness | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGIQ Rating opinion | opinion | June 2026 | Current | PGIQ methodology |
| Reliability | measured | 2024 | Fresh | EIA Form 861, Schedules 3B and 3C (annual electric power industry report) (two major-event methods, IEEE; respondent-defined, customer-weighted blend of 32 of 35 territories, 99% of customers, regional context only) |
| Forward cost | measured | 2027/28 (FCA 18) | Fresh | ISO-NE Forward Capacity Auction 18 (Utility Dive) |
| Interconnection queue | measured | end-2025 (LBNL 2026) | Fresh | LBNL Queued Up 2026 |
Freshness reflects each layer's refresh cadence: reliability annual to three-yearly, capacity-auction and queue yearly, tariffs every year or two. The full cross-market freshness dashboard is at /data-quality.
Territories in this market, each with its own filed record: NSTAR Electric Company, Massachusetts Electric Co, Connecticut Light & Power Co, Central Maine Power Co, Public Service Co of NH, The Narragansett Electric Co, United Illuminating Co, Green Mountain Power Corp. Which one serves a given site depends on where that site is.
How the connection process is organised: the applicable service and connection entities depend on the candidate location and the power pathway. We have not compiled the structure for this market; that is a gap in our wayfinding, not a fact about the market.
How ISO New England's reliability-adjusted score and tier have moved, month by month. Part of your Analyst Desk.
Every field above carries its own source and freshness. Price, imports and exports are modelled in every market because no feed supplies them. Carbon intensity is derived from the fuel mix.
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