Connecting to Ontario's power system

Your organization will want to take the following preliminary steps to lay the groundwork for your application to connect your new or modified facility to Ontario's electricity system.

• Identify the connection point(s) and preliminary design requirements of the new or modified connection facility by contacting the owner of the system or facility you intend to connect to

This could be the:

• Distributor who owns the local distribution system
• Transmitter who owns the transmission system
• Facility owner, if you're seeking to connect within an existing facility that belongs to a customer of a transmitter or a distributor. The facility owner (the "host") is, in turn, responsible for contacting their transmitter or distributor on your behalf.

• Confirm the connection assessment processes that apply to your new or modified facility and who is responsible to initiate them

To identify if the CAA process applies to your new or modified connection, consult section 2.1 of Market Manual 1.4. The section explains when the CAA process is required, under what circumstances inquiries are recommended to help the IESO determine if the CAA process is needed or not, how protection changes are treated and when the CAA process is not required. It also explains how maintenance work, like-for-like modifications and spare equipment are processed.

Once confirmed that the CAA process applies to your new or modified connection, consult section 5.3 of Market Manual 1.4 to determine the party that will be required to assume the responsibilities of the connection applicant during Stage 2.

If you cannot determine if the CAA process applies to your new or modified connection or who should be the connection applicant based on the information in sections 2.1 and 5.3 of Market Manual 1.4, please contact the IESO.

• Collect the technical data required to prepare the application

To streamline the initiation of their connection assessments processes, the IESO and Hydro One have developed joint system impact assessment (SIA) and customer impact assessment (CIA) application forms for generation (including electricity storage), renewable generation and load projects.

If you are required to participate in the IESO's and the transmitter's connection assessments process, your complete application must be sent via email to IESO and Hydro One at the addresses indicated on the front page of the form.

Please visit the Obtain Conditional Approval to Connect webpage for the applicable forms.

You may contact the IESO for any questions you have about completing the SIA application forms, or if your transmitter is not Hydro One Networks Inc. or Hydro One Sault Ste. Marie.

If your facility is required to participate in a distributor's connection assessment process, contact the distributor for further instructions.