In late November, roughly 100 members of No Coal No Gas showed up at a meeting of the Consumer Liaison Group, successfully electing six members to its governing committee.

The short-term goal was to earn some level of access to ISO-New England -- a famously opaque entity that plays a critical role in determining whether the region can meet its emission-reduction targets. The consumer group doesn't have any real power to influence the grid, but it does have a guaranteed audience with ISO-New England four times a year.

The long-term goal? To try and force the grid operator to act more ambitiously on climate -- hewing more closely to the emissions goals of most New England states -- while also becoming more transparent about its policy decisions.

They're not the only ones putting the grid operator in their sights. Increasingly, climate activists, clean energy advocates, and legislators across the region are taking aim at ISO-New England, claiming the grid operator is dragging its feet on clean energy.

They argue that many of the state's efforts to dramatically cut emissions -- like enticing large numbers of drivers to switch to electric vehicles and homeowners to convert to electric heat -- won't make much difference if the grid continues to be largely powered by fossil fuels.

That was the motivation behind the 2019 launch of a "Fix the Grid" campaign by several activist groups demanding more and faster clean energy. The campaign is aimed at ousting ISO-New England's leadership and requiring the grid operator to have representatives from each New England state on its board while increasing public participation in grid decisions.