On April 28, 2025, the Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission issued a strategic action plan focused on measures policymakers can take to increase interregional transmission. With a focus on near-term and mid-term action items, the plan provides steps state, regional, and federal decisionmakers can take to increase reliability and reduce consumer costs across three different grid planning regions in the Northeast.
Near-term actions include the issuance of a Request for Information (RFI) for potential interregional transmission projects as well as an effort to standardize transmission equipment and interoperability. Mid-term items include identification of interregional transmission projects, examination of reforms to wholesale transmission planning tariffs, and improvement of coordination between regional electric systems to reduce inefficiencies.
The Northeast States Collaborative on Interregional Transmission was created in 2023. The strategic action plan follows the group's memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in July 2024, establishing a framework to coordinate enhanced interregional planning and development of electricity transmission. The following nine State Energy Offices collaborated to develop the strategic action plan:
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
- Delaware Division of Climate, Coastal, and Energy, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
- Maine Governor’s Energy Office
- Maryland Energy Administration
- Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
- New Jersey Board of Public Utilities
- New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
- Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources
- Vermont Public Service Department