Stage 6 - Commission equipment and validate performance
During this stage, the equipment installed at your facility is tested to confirm that it meets the requirements and expectations that were established in the notice of conditional approval to connect. Tests will be scheduled according to the procedures set out in Market Manual 7.3.
In many cases, validation is performed by demonstrating that measurements and simulation data closely match. In other cases, validation is performed by recording as-built settings and selections or by observing ambient performance. More information can be found in Market Manual 1.6.
The IESO will work with your organization to prepare test plans for your other equipment, such as operating telemetry, and revenue metering.
As of December 8, 2022, the costs and expenses incurred by or on behalf of the IESO, for reliably integrating a market participant’s new or modified facility into the IESO-controlled grid and IESO-administered markets shall be borne by the market participant associated with such cost. Upon completion of the reliable integration activities, the market participant will receive an invoice from the IESO to cover the total costs and expenses incurred by the IESO in conducting these activities. Refer to sections 1.5 and 6 of Market Manual 1.5 Market Registration Procedures for additional details.
Step 1 - Submit commissioning request
The IESO will approve the scope of your equipment tests. Depending on the connection arrangement, the IESO may reduce the scope of testing required for sister units. Testing for transmission elements, such as circuits, transformers and shunts, is usually limited to confirm steady-state modelling parameters. Some equipment will require both steady state and dynamic tests.
Step 2 - Submit commissioning test plan
Your facility is required to obtain the IESO's approval for plans to test your facility's equipment. These plans must describe:
- Test procedures
- Test type
- Location of test measurements
- Sampling rate of each measurement for every test
If specific conditions on the IESO-controlled grid are required, this must be clearly specified in the test plan.
This step often requires several iterations between the IESO and the applicant.
Step 3 – Complete commissioning test
During this step, equipment at your facility will be tested. Final approval from IESO’s real-time operating staff is required before testing may begin or resume. The entire scope of the approved test plan must be completed and all measurements captured. Notification to IESO’s real-time operating staff is required when testing has been suspended or completed.
Step 4 - Submit commissioning test report
This step is completed in two stages by submitting your commissioning test attestation, followed by your commissioning test report.
Submit commissioning test attestation
Your organization must notify the IESO immediately when testing is completed and attest via email that the results demonstrate your equipment performs as required. Test measurements must be provided in an electronic format acceptable to the IESO. High speed recordings and satellite-clock time synchronization may be required. Typically, about 30 days is allowed to submit a draft test report to the IESO.
The IESO must be satisfied with the information provided and with your organization's attestation that the equipment performed as anticipated. Despite an attestation, if the IESO has reason to believe that the connection of your facility's equipment poses a risk, the equipment will be removed from service.
Submit final commissioning test report
Your facility's final test report must provide a complete description of the test performed and the measurements recorded. The report should demonstrate that the models provided to the IESO are sufficiently accurate to support the IESO’s operating and planning decision-making process. Typically, this involves comparing actual measurements with predictions from simulation models. If the IESO cannot reproduce your simulation results, the test report will be rejected.
Where there is not a good match between your measurement and the simulation, the IESO will use an optimization process to refine some model parameters to obtain a closer match between your measurements and the simulations. You will be expected to provide additional detailed information.
If the full testing scope was not completed or some measurements are missing or incorrect, tests must be repeated to correct these defects. Completing a successful final test report often requires several iterations between the applicant and the IESO.
The test results must prove to the IESO that it can rely on the information your facility provides in its operating and planning decisions. A test report is considered final only after it has been accepted by the IESO. At this point, the IESO will issue its final registration approval notification, and your equipment can be put in service.