Active Engagements

Multiple engagements will be discussed over the course of these meeting dates, grouping engagements by topic to maximize stakeholder participation and create linkages and information sharing across initiatives. Participants can participate in all discussions or elect to participate in only some.

Next Meeting | April 21 and 22, 2021

Multiple engagements will be discussed over the course of these meeting dates, grouping engagements by topic to maximize stakeholder participation and create linkages and information sharing across initiatives. Participants can participate in all discussions or elect to participate in only some.

The IESO is conducting a stakeholder engagement on behalf of the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines (ENDM) to better understand the role Distributed Energy Resources (DER) play in the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI) and the DER capacity available in Ontario.

The IESO is seeking feedback from communities to help inform the design of future energy efficiency programs for First Nation communities in Ontario, specifically to identify new energy efficiency opportunities for commercial and institutional buildings in First Nation communities.

The IESO, with support from Natural Resources Canada, is undertaking a demonstration in York Region to explore market-based approaches to secure energy and capacity services from distributed energy resources (DERs) for local needs, while coordinating across the electricity system.

The IESO intends to develop and release a series of white papers called the Innovation and Sector Evolution White Paper Series. These white papers are intended to support the creation of a shared, fact-based understanding of emerging economic, technical, environmental, and social issues, opportunities and trends.

The IESO intends to discuss and seek feedback from stakeholders on an issue related to Operating Reserve (OR), whereby the amount of OR scheduled is not fully accessible.

The IESO informs stakeholders of system operating conditions through advisory notices and operating states. This engagement will review what the IESO communicates to stakeholders through these channels with the goal being to improve awareness of system operating conditions.

Next meeting | April 22, 2021

The Energy work stream of the Market Renewal Program will improve the way electricity is priced and scheduled in order to meet Ontario’s energy needs reliably, transparently and efficiently. This engagement is focused on developing the specific changes and details required in the detailed design phase of work to implement the Energy stream enhancements in the IESO-Administered Market.

With the completion of the final high-level design documents, work is underway to finalize the detailed design documents. This engagement will focus on the translation of these designs into rules, manuals, processes and tools as part of the implementation phase.

Next meeting | April 22, 2021

The aim of the MRP Update Meetings is to inform a broad range of stakeholders of the activities and decisions being made in the technical engagement streams, engage on MRP-wide items such as the business case, discuss the stakeholder review of draft market rule language required for implementation and communicate all relevant training and market trial opportunities that will take place before the program's implementation.

Feedback due | March 23, 2021

The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders on options to address its uninsured liability risk. The IESO was unable to replace its errors and omissions insurance coverage and is proposing two options to address its uninsured risk: bring its liability risk under the market rules into alignment with available insurance and the liability risk of other independent system operators, or recover losses through the market.

As part of the TR Market Review stakeholder engagement, the IESO will work with stakeholders to determine what changes may be required to maximize the efficiency of the TR market and to ensure that the TR market is aligned and compatible with the renewed energy market in the future.

Feedback due | April 15, 2021

The IESO proposes to update Appendices 4.15 and 4.16 to enable generators and transmitters to install phasor technology infrastructure and provide phasor data to the IESO. The proposed changes are intended to align with requirements in other North American ISOs and RTOs. The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders on these proposed updates in Market Rule Appendices 4.15 and 4.16.

The IESO proposes to update Appendices 4.2 and 4.3 of the Market Rules to mitigate identified potential operational concerns related to the increased penetration of distributed energy resources, and to clarify the performance requirements for inverter-based resources. The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders on these proposed updates.

The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the development of participation model(s) to enable hybrid resources in the IESO-administered markets and have the capability to support Ontario’s future system needs. The changes will be implemented after the implementation of the Market Renewal Project.

Next Meeting | April 21, 2021

The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders on the development of an integrated plan that will outline the sequencing, timing and scope of activities to be undertaken by the IESO to enable existing electricity resources to provide electricity system services in the renewed Ontario wholesale market that they cannot, or cannot fully, currently provide.

Next Meeting | April 21, 2021

The IESO is committed to working with stakeholders to explore and implement competitive mechanisms, such as auctions, to secure the products and services it requires to operate the grid reliably and efficiently now and into the future.

The IESO invites feedback to aid in the development of an IESO competitive transmission procurement process. During the development of this process, the IESO will seek feedback from a broad spectrum of parties with an understanding of transmission procurement and/or transmission development, whether in Ontario or in other jurisdictions, or those parties with an interest in participating in Ontario’s competitive transmission procurement process.

The Energy Storage Advisory Group will perform an advisory role to support and assist the IESO in evolving policy, rules, processes and tools to better enable the integration of storage resources within the current structure of the IESO-administered market. 

The Market Development Advisory Group (MDAG) which will support IESO efforts to evolve the Ontario electricity market, beyond the Market Renewal Program, to cost-effectively ensure reliability in the near and longer terms.

The IESO seeks feedback from stakeholders about what tools are needed, in addition to capacity auctions, to achieve resource adequacy. Discussions are aimed to determine the risks, challenges, opportunities and solutions to meet Ontario’s long term adequacy needs in a competitive and transparent way.

Feedback due | April 14, 2021      Next meeting | April 22, 2021

The IESO is seeking feedback from communities and stakeholders on the design of a formal integrated bulk system planning process.

Feedback due | March 15, 2021

Regional electricity planning in the East Lake Superior region is underway. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the elements of the regional planning process.

Regional electricity planning in the Greater Bruce/Huron region is underway. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the elements of the regional planning process.

A new regional planning cycle is underway for the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge-Guelph region. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the development of a long-term electricity plan for the region, anticipated to be completed in Q4 2020.

Regional electricity planning is now underway for the Northwest Ontario region. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to provide input to inform the Scoping Assessment Outcome Report which will define the scope, characteristics and timing to develop a long-term electricity plan.

The regional planning cycle for the Ottawa Area sub-region was completed in February 2020 with the posting of an Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) for the sub-region. Subsequent to the release of this IRRP, the Technical Working Group will undertake an IRRP Addendum Study, which will integrate with the IESO’s ongoing Bulk Transmission Study. Opportunities for engagement will be identified as the studies develop.

Regional electricity planning in the Peel/Halton (GTA West) region is underway. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the elements of an Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) anticipated to be complete in Q2 2021.

Regional electricity planning in the Peterborough to Kingston region is underway. This engagement initiative will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the elements of an Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) anticipated to be complete in Q4 2021.

Regional electricity planning in the South Georgian Bay/Muskoka region is underway. The engagement process will provide interested parties with an opportunity to offer input for consideration into the draft scoping assessment report.

The regional electricity planning cycle for Windsor-Essex was completed in September 2019 with the publication of a long-term electricity plan - Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP).  Engagement will continue on an Addendum Study that is examining specific electricity infrastructure in the Town of Kingsville and Municipality of Leamington, expected to be complete in Q3 2020.

The IESO is seeking feedback from stakeholders and communities to consider lessons learned and findings from the previous cycle of Regional Planning and other regional planning development initiatives, such as pilots and studies.

Feedback due | March 15, 2021

The Ontario energy market is emerging from a sustained period of surplus conditions, and is beginning to see a capacity need take shape. With supply conditions tightening, the IESO sees an opportunity to review and challenge the existing thinking and approach to adequacy assessments. There is a balance to be struck between being appropriately conservative in the approach, while also considering value to ratepayers. This review effort will entail examining the specific areas mentioned with the NPCC Reliability Standard, Directory 1 (Design and Operation of the Bulk Power System).

The IESO will be seeking feedback from stakeholders and communities on a draft process for collecting information on asset end-of-life, or expected service life from transmission asset owners. The draft process also identifies a set of criteria for determining if an asset replacement need may benefit from consideration in a bulk or regional planning processes.

This engagement will review IESO and Hydro One's practices on how transmission losses are considered in planning and operation of the system, a comparison of these practices to those used in other jurisdictions, and seek stakeholder feedback on potential improvements to these practices.