Newsroom & Public Notices

Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission is a first-of-its-kind coordination effort to address gaps in transmission planning and promote solutions that offer significant grid and consumer benefits

TRENTON – The Murphy Administration today joined eight Northeast states in issuing a strategic action plan that identifies specific steps that state, regional, and federal policymakers can take to pursue interregional transmission solutions to reduce costs for consumers and make our energy systems more secure.

“New Jersey is proud to work with our partners throughout the Northeast to identify and mobilize around transmission solutions to reduce costs for ratepayers and bolster reliability,” said NJBPU President Christine Guhl-Sadovy. “As we take a comprehensive look at opportunities to secure short and long-term ratepayer savings, all options are on the table and this strategic action plan will help us explore transmission solutions that deliver savings and reliability benefits for millions of residents and businesses.”

The Northeast States Collaborative will host a webinar tomorrow, Tuesday, April 29 at 10 a.m. to discuss the strategic action plan’s near-term and mid-term focus areas. Registration information is available here.

The strategic action plan outlines a range of actions over the next several years to improve interregional transmission planning processes across three different grid planning regions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Key near-term actions include the issuance of a Request for Information for potential interregional transmission projects that provide reliability benefits and cost savings for consumers. The plan also identifies transmission equipment standardization efforts to support a unified and comprehensive approach to transmission investments.

In 2023, New Jersey joined a request to the U.S. Department of Energy to convene a multi-state group – called the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission – in a first-in-the-nation effort to explore mutually beneficial opportunities to increase the flow of electricity between the ISO New England, New York ISO, and PJM Interconnection planning regions.

The Collaborative includes New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Last summer, the multi-state group signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework for coordinating its activities and identified this strategic action plan as a critical next step.

Since that time, the Collaborative has engaged relevant federal agencies and organizations with technical expertise to identify and assess shared areas of focus for interregional transmission cooperation and coordination. Issuance of the strategic action plan is a key milestone for the Collaborative as it seeks to remove regulatory and technical barriers to greater interregional transmission planning and engagement for the benefit of consumers and grid reliability. 

About the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) 

NJBPU is a state agency and regulatory authority mandated to ensure safe, adequate and proper utility services at reasonable rates for New Jersey customers. Critical services regulated by NJBPU include natural gas, electricity, water, wastewater, telecommunications and cable television. The Board has general oversight and responsibility for monitoring utility service, responding to consumer complaints, and investigating utility accidents. To find out more about NJBPU, visit our website at www.nj.gov/bpu.