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EE Online | The Grid Transformation Forum: 20 Years Later, NYISO Still Focuses on Innovation and Making a Difference
EET&D – Gauging from recent press releases we’ve seen on NYISO, it looks like you’ve been quite busy.
RD – That’s correct, although it’s probably more accurate to say “even more than usual.” The changes taking place on the grid today are unprecedented in our 20-year history and reflect changes taking place around the nation and the world, as we see the continued impact of climate change and a variety of new energy innovations. When I was hired in 2000, at the end of a six-hour interview, our first CEO, Bill Mueller, called me into his office and said, “Rich, we really want you to join the New York ISO. We have no idea what your title is going to be, and I can’t even tell you what you’re going to work on, but I guarantee that you will have fun.” He hasn’t stopped being right, and especially now – this is the most exciting time to be in the energy industry.
EET&D – Talk about how NYISO got to where you are today.
RD – As I mentioned, we’ve been in existence for nearly 20 years, since we began operation in December of 1999. But our history dates back to the creation of the New York Power Pool in 1965, after a blackout in the Northeast that affected 30 million people. The Power Pool managed the transmission of power across the state from 1965 to 1999, but the utilities still controlled generation. In 1999, following years of discussion and planning by the state government to introduce competition into the energy sector, the utilities divested themselves of generation, and the NYISO was formed to operate the grid and administer those markets independently from any commercial interests.
Read more from this interview at EE Online: The Grid Transformation Forum: 20 Years Later, NYISO Still Focuses on Innovation and Making a Difference