Market Renewal Newsletter - July Update
July 25, 2024
July 2024 Updates
The Market Renewal Program (MRP) newsletter provides information related to Market Participant readiness activities in support of the launch of the renewed market on May 1, 2025. The newsletter features information on testing, training and stakeholder engagement activities. Visit the MRP Readiness section of IESO’s website to learn more about our Readiness Program.
Market Participant Testing
Kick-off meeting for Phase 2 of Market Trials
The IESO is hosting a kick-off meeting for Phase 2 of Market Trials on August 7, 2024 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Phase 2 of Market Trials will begin on August 14, 2024 and is focused on allowing Market Participants to confirm that they are able to download and process a subset of reports from the IESO Reports site and continue to submit and query dispatch data. The following participation types are highly recommended to participate in Phase 2 of Market Trials:
- Dispatchable and Non-Dispatchable Generators
- Dispatchable Loads
- Dispatchable Electricity Storage Participants
- Intertie Traders
- Virtual Traders
- Price Responsive Loads, and
- Hourly Demand Response Participants
Market Participants can register for the event through this form.
Phase 1 of Market Trials is officially open
Phase 1 of Market Trials started on July 16, 2024. During this phase, Market Participants can test the following Sandbox applications: Energy Market Interface (EMI), Market Information Management (MIM) system, and Online IESO. Market Participants will be able to conduct Phase 1 of Market Trials until August 13, 2024. Market Participants should submit their test results to the IESO through qTest or using the Issue Log Template as they complete their testing to help the IESO identify and resolve issues as early as possible.
To aid Market Participants during Market Trials, the following documents have been posted on the Market Participant Testing web page:
- The MRP Market Trials Test Plan
- The recorded presentation and presentation decks from the kick-off meeting
- Detailed Test Cases for Market Trials Phase 1
- Issue Log templates for EMI, MIM, and Online IESO for Market Participants who have chosen not to use qTest to submit their test results
- Listing of Market Trials test cases for in-scope applications recommended for each type of Market Participant
Additionally, the updated participant tool guides for EMI, Dispatch Service, and the Guide to Settlement Claims and Data Submissions via Online IESO are available on the MRP – Participant Tool Training page to assist Market Participants in their testing activities.
If Market Participants have general questions about Market Trials, please contact IESO Customer Relations at IESOCustomerRelations@ieso.ca.
Market Participants are reminded to monitor the Planned IT Outages webpage for any outages that may occur in the Sandbox environment, which will impact the availability of the applications you are testing during this period.
Wrap-up of Connectivity Testing
Connectivity Testing has concluded. A wrap-up meeting was scheduled on June 7, 2024 to provide an overview of lessons learned and a summary of issues encountered during Connectivity Testing. The presentation deck and recording of the wrap-up meeting can be found on the Market Participant Testing section of the Market Renewal webpage.
IESO Reports Impacted by MRP
Release of the Final Batch of New and Updated Schema, Sample and Help Files for IESO Reports
The last batch of schema, sample and help files for new and updated market and system reports are now posted on the Technical Reference Materials section of the Market Renewal webpage. It is recommended that Market Participants verify that they can view and download these reports and confirm that the structural changes in these files can be accepted by their internal processes and systems before the Market Renewal Program goes live on May 1, 2025. If you experience any issues accessing these files, please contact the IESO’s Customer Relations team at IESOCustomerRelations@ieso.ca.
In addition, the IESO recently identified additional market and system reports to be developed in response to stakeholder feedback. The schema, sample and help file for these reports will be posted later this year.
Updated list of Reports Impacted by MRP posted on the Technical Reference Materials page
An updated list of reports that are impacted by MRP is now posted on the Technical Reference Materials section of the Market Renewal web page.
As of June 28, 2024, the following changes were made to the list:
- During the June 2023 MRP engagement webinar, the IESO communicated to stakeholders that the Weekly Market Summary Report will not be revised as the information will be published through the ieso.ca data pages. Based on the reporting frequency and a need for historical reports to be accessible to Market Participants, it has been determined for this report to be revised in its current format instead of making the information available through the website. The schema, sample, and help files for this report will be available in Q4 2024.
- The Hourly Uplift and Intertie Guarantee Estimates Report was identified for “no change” during the detailed design phase of MRP. The IESO determined that this report will be updated to align with the new data and settlement equations that MRP is introducing. The schema, sample, and help files for this report will be available in Q4 2024.
- Some of the report names have changed names to be consistent with references in other documents.
Addition of the New Monthly Load Forecast Deviation
A new report called the Monthly Load Forecast Deviation Adjustment Report will be introduced to reflect the changes that the renewed market will be delivering. The purpose of this report is to provide hourly estimated values for all hours where a Preliminary Settlement Statement has not yet been issued. The report is intended to be used by Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) to true-up their RPP settlement claim submissions in the previous month.
The Monthly Load Forecast Deviation Adjustment Report sample, schema, and help file are expected to be posted on the Technical Reference Materials section of the Market Renewal webpage in September 2024.
Posting of the Document_r1.xsd schema file
To support Market Participants during MRP Market Trials and End-to-End Testing, the IESO posted a schema file on the Technical Reference Materials section of the Market Renewal webpage titled “Document_r1.xsd.” This schema is used to validate the header content for all IESO reports. The Document_r1.xsd applies to all IESO reports and should be included with the report’s specific schema and sample files when Market Participants are viewing, downloading, and confirming that the structural changes in these files can be accepted by their internal processes and systems.
Stakeholder Engagement
Final Alignment Documents posted for Stakeholder Review
The Final Alignment batch of market rule amendments and the corresponding market manuals required to implement the Market Renewal Program (MRP) have been posted for stakeholder review. Stakeholders have until August 6, 2024 to submit their feedback to the IESO. All Final Alignment documents along with the stakeholder comment form are available on the Final Alignment Documents web page.
Recording and slide decks available from the June 20, 2024 MRP Stakeholder Engagement webinar posted
A stakeholder engagement webinar was held on June 20, 2024 to provide stakeholders an update on the transition to the renewed market, additional clarity on the Dispatch Schedule Error process, suspended administration of Physical Bilateral Contracts (PBCs), and a brief overview of the transitional rules that will be a part of the Final Alignment batch of Market Rule amendments. The materials and the recording of the webinar can be found on the “June 20, 2024” row under the Schedule of Activities table on the Implementation Engagement section of the Market Renewal webpage.
Settlement Reference Materials
Final Alignment Documents posted for Stakeholder Review
The updated Settlement Statement and Data File Format Specification can be found on the Settlement Reference Materials (ieso.ca) section of the Market Renewal webpage. This version reflects the changes that are introduced by MRP and is intended to help Market Participants in updating their API systems to be able to process future settlement and data files. Please note the testing of Market Participant-specific settlement statement and data files will be available during to End-to-Ending testing which will commence in January 2025.
Readiness Plan for Registration Launch and Reference Level Launch
In preparation for MRP Go-Live, the IESO is planning to update the registration system and workflows in Online IESO on November 11, 2024, and allow Market Participants to view Market Power Mitigation related registration information starting on February 1, 2025. The Readiness Plan for Registration Launch and Reference Level Launch has been posted on the Market Participant Readiness page to outline key dates and registration-related activities they should be aware of to prepare for two important launch dates: Registration Launch and Reference Level Launch.
Upcoming Events and Key Dates
August 6, 2024:
Deadline to submit feedback to the Final Alignment documents.
August 7, 2024:
Kick-off Meeting for Market Trials Phase 2. Market Participants can register for the event through this form.
August 13, 2024:
Market Trials Phase 1 ends.
August 14, 2024:
Market Trials Phase 2 begins.
September 4, 2024:
Kick-off Meeting for Market Trials Phase 3.
September 11, 2024:
Market Trials Phase 2 ends.