THE READY PATH SOLUTION
THE PROCESS
Following ISO-NE’s issuance of a request for proposals in December 2019 to address reliability needs caused by the upcoming retirement of the Mystic Generation Plant, National Grid and Eversource, the region’s primary transmission owners and operators, have been hard at work identifying solutions to our regional electrical system’s reliability needs. In Spring 2020, working together, our two companies proposed eight separate solutions to the identified system reliability weaknesses resulting from Mystic Generating Station’s upcoming retirement.
In July 2020, ISO-NE issued their notification that, of the 36 individual proposals submitted by eight different developers, Ready Path Solution is the one project selected to move forward with a Solutions Study process.
WHAT IS THE READY PATH SOLUTION?
Of all the proposals submitted, ISO-NE selected the Eversource/National Grid Ready Path Solution as the proposal to move forward in the Solutions Study process, and cited a number of reasons for their selection.
Ready Path was the least cost proposal received, providing significant customer savings.
It has the greatest degree of schedule certainty due to minimal permitting and siting requirements. Eversource and National Grid have all necessary property and land rights in place to construct, maintain, and operate the Ready Path solution.
Specifically, the system upgrades will be sited within the companies’ substation footprints and will not require petition filings with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) or Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB).
In short, the Ready Path can be built on time at the lowest cost, addressing the identified reliability needs. Our project team is looking forward, advancing our project in the months ahead, ensuring advanced reliability for the system and New England customers for years to come.
THE READY PATH SOLUTION, ALSO KNOWN AS BOSTON AREA OPTIMIZATION SOLUTION (BAOS)
Eversource and National Grid’s Ready Path Solution proposal is an innovative, cost-effective, timely and the least impactful solution to meet the identified needs. Specifically, this “backstop” solution includes installing new equipment at substations in Tewksbury, North Cambridge, Amesbury, and Haverhill to improve transmission system stability and redirect power flows.
