The NYISO is a not-for-profit organization formed in 1998 as part of the restructuring of New York State's electric power industry. Its mission is to ensure the reliable, safe and efficient operation of the State's major transmission system and to administer an open, competitive and nondiscriminatory wholesale market for electricity in New York State. Competition in New York's wholesale electricity market is expected to result in lower overall electricity costs for New Yorkers. The NYISO is governed by an independent, ten-member board, and is operated from a Power Control Center near Albany, New York, by a professional staff of approximately 219.