HOLYOKE, Mass. (AP) – An adminstrative law judge for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved much of ISO New England’s proposal to change the way power producers in the region are paid.

The agency will now consider the case, relying on the decision as well as further testimony and comments on it. A final decision is expected by early September, with implementation expected in January.

In the Wednesday decision, Judge Bobbie McCartney approved a mechanism that will pay power producers more when power is in greatest demand, and less when there is excess supply.

ISO New England, which manages the region’s power supply grid, asked FERC for permission to implement a new charge in the wholesale power market.

Officials at Holyoke-based ISO-New England said that the new payments are needed to encourage generators to stay in business and to encourage construction of new generators, especially in parts of the region that are short on power.

ISO has said northeastern Massachusetts, the Boston area and southwestern Connecticut have been a concern because transmission bottlenecks make it difficult to get power to those areas.