It’s that time of year again when load assets lose their annual Generation Information System (GIS) exemption from GIS cost charges. To be exempt from these charges in 2021, load-asset owners or account holders of GIS load assets must request or renew their exemptions. Load-asset owners or account holders must submit certifications or opinion letters, along with the GIS Exemption Request Form, to GIS@iso-ne.com by close of business on November 16, 2020.

GIS is a New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) emissions reporting and tracking tool that monitors environmental attributes of generated electricity. For each megawatt-hour of electricity generated by individual units, NEPOOL-GIS assigns a certificate that records the attributes of that power. Electricity suppliers then use these certificates to differentiate their products for consumers, provide the information required on energy-disclosure labels, and comply with state and regional Renewable Portfolio Standard and emissions performance standards. GIS costs represent the expenses the ISO incurred for the vendor that administers the GIS, APX. The methodology for allocating GIS costs is described in the document, Allocation of Costs Related to Generation Information System.

For a load asset to be exempt from GIS cost charges, its load-asset owner must annually provide ISO New England with either a certification by one of its officers or an opinion of counsel explaining the specific reason, per the state’s Attribute Laws, why the load asset is not subject to the GIS charges. The GIS Annual Exemption Process Instructions contain more detailed information on how to request or renew an exemption status.

Reminder: If an asset owner incurs a change during the year, both new and previous GIS account holders must inform APX at gis@apx.com of the change so that the GIS costs can be charged to the appropriate party.

Each load asset’s exemption status is listed on a participants’ Market Information System GIS Costs reports (SS_GISCOST). GIS load asset with an exempt status that is not renewed will become nonexempt effective with the January 2021 metered load’s billing cycle.

If you have questions about any part of the GIS exemption process, contact Customer Support at 413-540-4220 or custserv@iso-ne.com; the GIS administrator can be contacted at gis@apx.com or 408-899-3343.