ISO New England: Who’s keeping the lights on? Meet new ISO New England CEO Vamsi Chadalavada.
There’s one person in particular you can thank for keeping the lights on during the recent cold snap.
The buck stops with Vamsi Chadalavada, the new chief executive of grid operator ISO New England in Holyoke. He took over the top job last month following Gordon van Welie’s retirement.
Not long after his promotion, Chadalavada experienced a baptism by fire — or ice, to be more accurate. Prolonged frigid temperatures put stresses on the grid. Most of the natural gas in New England had to be used for heating instead of electricity generation, and Hydro-Quebec temporarily stopped sending power our way, to deal with its own electricity needs. So ISO New England sought permission from federal regulators to run many power plants beyond what their environmental permits allow. That waiver expired Saturday night.
Read the full story via the Boston Globe >> https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/02/16/business/iso-new-england-vamsi-chadalavada/?p1=StaffPage