Connecting to Ontario's power system

The information collected in this stage is necessary to ensure the reliability of the IESO-controlled grid.

Your organization should begin the process to register your facility equipment in Online IESO well ahead of its first energization to the grid, such as at the start of construction or prior to the commencement of any related outages. Organizations will be required to start their registration activities in advance of the minimum time periods specified in the Registration Timelines Guide. However, Participants are advised to review the Average Registration Timelines, as it provides statistical information regarding the time to implement past projects and may be a more realistic benchmark for planning your future projects.  The IESO recommends starting at least eight months in advance for new facilities, and at least four months ahead for any modification to existing facilities, and a minimum of nine months for Remedial Action Scheme (RAS) changes.  

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 – Register a facility

The person in your organization designated as the equipment registration specialist will submit the as built technical information and supporting documents for your facility using Online IESO.

The instructions for completing the necessary steps and tasks are found under Actions, Manage Facilities and Equipment.

Examples of the technical information your organization will need to provide include:

• Technical characteristics
• Performance characteristics
• Models and associated parameters
• Location details

The Register Facility Help File contains the complete list of information that needs to be submitted. Your technical information will be reviewed and approved by up to three different engineering teams within the IESO.

Additionally, supporting documents may be required. Some examples include:

• An "issued-for-construction" electrical single-line diagram of your facility, reviewed by the transmitter, annotated with monitored points and quantities and include the location of the dynamic disturbance recorder
• Connection agreement with the transmitter if your facility is connected to the IESO-controlled grid or with the local distribution company, if your facility is connected to a distribution system
• Protection description document
• Operational philosophy document
• Facility description documents if your facility is to be connected to the IESO-controlled grid and equipped with a special protection system, as required by the connection assessment
• Evidence of any connection obligation identified in an applicable connection assessment
• If your organization is deemed to be a restoration participant as defined in the Ontario Power System Restoration Plan, you must submit a restoration participant attachment that outlines how your organization will meet the plan's obligations. See Ontario Power System Restoration Plan webpage for guidelines.

For a new facility, your equipment registration specialist also needs to establish specific contact roles at the facility. More information can be found in the Guide for all Contact Roles.

Step 2 – IESO reviews technical information and documentation

The IESO reviews all of the information your organization submitted to ensure any connection obligation identified in the applicable connection assessment has been fulfilled. It also confirms that the physical facility is represented and modelled by IESO systems in a manner that accurately reflects operational and settlement requirements. Note that the terms resource, delivery point and location ID are interchangeably used in other IESO systems and market manuals.

Step 3 - Create and register resources

In some cases, your resources may need to be created and registered during this stage. These resources are used by the IESO's market systems to validate bids, offers and schedules and undertake settlements. The Register Facility Help File identifies the information that you'll need.

Designate business roles

Your organization is required to designate business roles to establish business key relationships on a resource that will facilitate participation in the IESO-administered markets.

Your organization's equipment registration specialist must designate the business relationships for a specific resource as follows:

Step 4 - Register meters

All metering installations your organization plans to use to provide metering data for settlement of IESO-administered markets or programs must be registered by a metering service provider.

Organizations that have a metered market participant role are responsible for installing and maintaining the metering, accuracy and reliability of the metering data, for the security at the facility and for selecting a metering service provider. A metered market participant may also register as a meter service provider.

For more information, see Meter Registration or the list of registered meter service providers authorized to register metering installations for operation in Ontario’s wholesale electricity market.

Step 5 – Perform a dispatchability test, if applicable

If your resource is dispatchable, your organization must perform a dispatchability test in the IESO’s sandbox environment, where the connectivity of the dispatch workstation and the automated dispatch instructions are tested. General information and technical requirements for the dispatch workstation can be found in Participant Technical Reference Manual.

Step 6 – Submit telemetry information and perform telemetry tests

The operational visibility of any new or modified facility is an important part of facility registration. Your facility's telemetry information is finalized during this stage, at which time the IESO will produce and finalize a list of analog and digital telemetry points as outlined in Appendix 4 of the Market Rules.

At various stages during the registration process, your facility must test all telemetry points in the IESO’s quality assurance (QA) and production environments to ensure standards are met and that sign conventions are understood. All anomalies must be corrected before first energization.

Step 7 – IESO issues registration approval notification

Your organization may receive more than one interim registration approval notification from the IESO – a document marking the completion of specific milestones or activities associated with facility registration.

In some cases, to demonstrate that the equipment meets performance requirements the IESO will require commissioning of equipment as outlined in the applicable connection assessment. In the cases where commissioning equipment and performance validation are required, your final registration approval notification will be issued at the completion of that stage.

Next stage:  Commission equipment and validate performance