PJM-GATS vs. NEPOOL-GIS: Which Tracking System Applies to Your GRECs?
If you are new to the world of Geothermal Renewable Energy Credits, you will eventually encounter two primary tracking systems: PJM-GATS and NEPOOL-GIS. Understanding which system applies to your specific state is essential for proper GREC registration and long-term credit management to maximize your revenue. While both systems serve the same fundamental purpose—tracking the creation, ownership, and retirement of renewable energy credits—they cover different geographic regions and have distinct registration procedures that can be difficult for individual owners to navigate without specialized expertise.
PJM-GATS: The Mid-Atlantic Powerhouse
PJM-GATS (PJM Generation Attribute Tracking System) is the tracking platform for the PJM Interconnection region, which covers 13 states and the District of Columbia across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Midwest. Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania all fall within the PJM territory, making GATS the dominant system for our regional participants. If your geothermal system is in any of these states, your GRECs will be registered and tracked exclusively through PJM-GATS. Each credit receives a unique serial number that ensures it can only be sold and retired once, maintaining the environmental integrity of the credit system and preventing double-counting. The GATS platform is highly automated but requires rigorous data entry regarding system capacity and state-issued certification numbers before any credits can be minted. Users can track their holdings on the /maryland or /virginia pages to see how local regulations interact with this platform.
NEPOOL-GIS: The New England Standard
NEPOOL-GIS (New England Power Pool Generation Information System) serves the ISO-New England region, covering the six New England states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. New Hampshire's Thermal RECs (T-RECs) are tracked through NEPOOL-GIS rather than PJM-GATS because the state's utilities operate within the New England grid. The system functions similarly to PJM-GATS by issuing and retiring credits, but it operates under distinct ISO-New England protocols which can deviate in terms of reporting frequency and quarterly trading windows. For residents in /new-hampshire, this is the only registry that matters for utility compliance. The platform is designed to handle a variety of generation types, and geothermal owners must be careful to select the correct 'thermal' designation during the multi-step enrollment process to ensure their credits are marketable to utilities. See our /glossary for more technical definitions of these regional power pools.
Practical Nuances in Registration and Timelines
For system owners, the key practical difference lies in the specific registration procedures and the administrative overhead required for account management. PJM-GATS requires a formal facility registration that includes state-specific certification (such as a Maryland PSC certification number or Virginia SCC approval), while NEPOOL-GIS has its own registration process that is closely aligned with ISO-NE administrative rules. The credit issuance cycles, reporting requirements, and trading windows differ between the two platforms, affecting when you actually see cash in hand. PJM-GATS registrations typically take 4–8 weeks to move from application to active status, while NEPOOL-GIS may have slightly different processing times based on the state's specific renewable energy department's workflow. This is why we encourage owners to /evaluate their systems early to begin the process, as bureaucratic delays at the registry level are common and require active monitoring to resolve.
The Impact on Market Liquidity and Compliance
The tracking system you are assigned to ultimately determines which compliance markets your credits can serve. PJM-GATS credits are used to satisfy Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) obligations for utilities operating within the PJM territory (including those in Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania), while NEPOOL-GIS credits satisfy obligations for ISO-New England utilities. You cannot generally transfer credits between these two systems because they represent different energy grids with separate legal mandates. This is why proper initial registration on the correct platform is absolutely essential; registering on the wrong system would mean your credits cannot be sold to the utilities that legally need them to meet their quotas. We maintain active accounts on both systems to ensure that our clients never lose out on a sale due to regional isolation. You can read more about how this impacts your specific area on our /states overview page.
How Emergent Energy Bridges the Geographical Gap
Emergent Energy is registered and active on both PJM-GATS and NEPOOL-GIS, acting as a bridge for geothermal owners regardless of their location. Whether your geothermal system is in a PJM state like Maryland or Virginia, or an ISO-NE state like New Hampshire, we handle the platform-specific registration requirements, ongoing account management, and complex credit trading. You do not need to create your own individual tracking system account, pay the annual subscriber fees, or learn the technical nuances of the software—that is precisely what we do for our clients. Our expertise across both systems means we can serve geothermal owners in any active or emerging GREC state, providing a unified experience for homeowners and installers. To get started with either system, visit our /how-it-works page to see the step-by-step registration roadmap we follow for every client.
Quarterly Reporting and Certificate Pulsing
One of the most complex aspects of managing accounts on GATS or GIS is the quarterly reporting cycle. Both systems require a regular 'pulse' of data to verify that the geothermal system is still operational and producing thermal energy as expected. In some jurisdictions, this requires the submission of actual meter readings, while in others, a formulaic approach based on system capacity is used. If a reporting window is missed, the credits for that period may be lost forever. Emergent Energy automates this reporting process for our registered systems, ensuring that every megawatt-hour produced is accounted for and minted into a tradeable certificate. This meticulous attention to detail is why our clients see higher yield than those who attempt to manage their own registry accounts. For more on how we calculate these outputs, visit our thermal energy section on the /faq page.
The Future of Regional Interconnection
As the U.S. electrical grid evolves, the role of tracking systems like PJM-GATS and NEPOOL-GIS is becoming even more critical for the decarbonization of heating and cooling. Modern legislation often includes 'carve-outs' specifically for thermal energy, which forces these registries to update their software to handle non-electric BTU measurements. We stay in constant communication with the administrators of both systems to ensure our clients' registrations remain compliant with any software updates or rule changes. This forward-looking approach is particularly important for residents in Pennsylvania, where the transition to Tier I status will require a specific type of enrollment within PJM-GATS. By staying ahead of these regional shifts, Emergent Energy ensures that your geothermal system remains a high-performing financial asset for years to come. Check out our /states page for updates on emerging legislation and new tracking system requirements.