NOTE: Session on November 8 will be an off-site field trip from approximately 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM

When you turn on a light at your house, somewhere a power plant (or a wind turbine) makes a little more power in order for that light to go on. Electricity supply and electricity demand must be equal at all times. That equality is the work of “the grid” and those who maintain it. The grid is a carefully engineered miracle. This course is designed to help people understand how the grid operates, and how gridlevel
decisions affect their lives and electricity bills. Participants will learn about the grid, its economics, and its politics. This course will include lectures, some reading, discussion, a field trip, and participant reports on selected topics. There will be four sessions. The first session will be about the physical grid. Two guest lecturers will describe how electricity is made and delivered. The second session covers money and policy on the grid. Our focus will be on the role of ISO-NE (the grid operator). Topics include energy auctions, forward capacity payments, and the winter reliability projects. After these two sessions, we will be ready for the third session, our field trip to ISO-NE headquarters in Massachusetts. Please be prepared to spend much of the day with the group on the field trip day. The fourth class will include discussions, student reports, and reflections on our experience with the grid operator.