Frequently Asked Questions

Metering installations used for settlement purposes should be registered with who?

Metering installations used for settlement in the IESO-administered markets must be registered with the IESO. Details regarding the process of registering a metering installation can be found in Market Manual 3.0: Metering.

What are the registration requirements for a Metering Service Provider (MSP)?

The market rules require that the registration and maintenance of the metering installations used in the IESO-administered markets be performed by IESO-registered metering service providers. To apply for registration, applicants must follow part 3.1 of the Market Manual 3.0: Metering, Metering Service Provider Registration, Revocation and De-registration and complete the MSP Application Form.

Who owns metering data?

Metering data is owned by the metered market participant assigned to the relevant meter installation and delivery point.

Who is responsible for the cost of installing and maintaining the metering installation?

The metered market participant is responsible for the cost of installing and maintaining the metering installation. However, the metered market participant must contract the services of a metering service provider to perform these tasks.

What measures have been taken to ensure consistency and standards in meter requirements at the wholesale and retail levels?

Retail metering standards lie within the jurisdiction of the Ontario Energy Board (OEB). When the market rules were developed by the Ontario Market Design Committee (MDC), wholesale and retail metering teams held joint sessions to ensure the two sets of metering standards were aligned where possible. 

Wholesale metering standards enable prospective wholesale market participants to assess the equipment and design requirements of joining the wholesale energy market and determining whether upgrades of existing installations are required.

Is there a catalogue of the manufacturers and meters accepted by the IESO?

The conforming meter list maintained by the IESO provides a catalogue of the manufacturers and meters accepted by the IESO for use in the IESO administered market.

Is there a list of registered metering service providers available?

A list of registered metering service providers that have satisfied the requirements specified in the market rules is available on the IESO website. The IESO will also publish and maintain a list of MSPs whose registration has been revoked.

If a physical facility has multiple meters, can it have multiple delivery points associated with it?

Delivery points for settlement in the wholesale energy market are assigned based on operational and market requirements. Thus, multiple delivery points may exist at the same physical facility. In addition, separate delivery points are assigned for transmission tariffs (network and connection, respectively).

If the facility has internal sub-metering which shows hourly profiles and can be totalized for overall consumption, is this adequate for metering purposes or back-up metering purposes?

All wholesale meters must be on the list of conforming meters. Other meters can only be used in case of implementing an Emergency Instrument Transformer Restoration Plan (EITRP).  Metered market participants should check with their MSP to determine suitability.

Are potential participants in the wholesale energy market required to have a metering service provider register their metering installation with the IESO or can this be done by the local utility?

The metered market participant must contract the services of an IESO-registered metering service provider which will undertake the registration of the metering installation(s) and totalization table required for settlement at the relevant delivery point. The registration of a metering installation with the IESO can be undertaken by the local utility provided this organization is duly registered as a metering service provider.

How does a third party access metering data and what authority is required?

An authorized agent - Meter Data Associate - can be associated to the delivery point by the market participant designated as the metered market participant.  The recipient of an MDA relationship must be an organization that is registered with the IESO and must have the “Meter Data Associate” Participation. The association of an authorized agent to a specific Delivery Point is accomplished via Online IESO for registration of a new delivery point or IESO forms 1300 or 1304 for change to an existing delivery point. Once associated with a certain delivery point, the authorized agent can access metering data associated with that delivery point at all levels (delivery point, summary meter and/or physical meter data).

Will the IESO Reports site accept requests from market participants to download meter data that is not of 5 min intervals (e.g., 15 min or hourly)?

Metering data will be available to participants at the same interval at which it is recorded by the meter. Delivery point or summary meter reading representing a totalization of the contributing meters that are of different interval measurements (15-minute and 5-minute) will be displayed as per the interval length defined in the Site Registration Report.

Can changes to the totalization table take effect during the same day? For example, can it change during the day or are the changes always made effective at the end of the day?

Changes can be made in a totalization table at any five minute interval during the day for any contributions, attributes, or losses. The only change effective midnight is the start or stop of a delivery point.

How long will the interval meter data be kept available for market participants to download?

The interval meter data will be retained in IESO Reports site folders as follows:

  • Monthly AQEW/AQEI Report – 90 calendar days (based on date of publishing)
  • Validated Meter Data (VMD) – 45 calendar days
  • Totalized Meter Data With Losses (TMD-WL) – 45 calendar days
  • Totalized Meter Data Without Losses (TMD-WOL) – 45 calendar days
  • Ad-Hoc Meter Data Requests (MD-AD-HOC) – 45 calendar days
What is the format and content of the request and response for metering data?

The default request is established by the Online IESO Meter Data Report Profile configured by the Revenue Meter Data Contact. An ad-hoc request can be submitted through Online IESO by the Revenue Meter Data Contact. Details can be found in the Meter Data Management and Meter Data Distribution IESO training document.

 

Meter Data Report Profiles will allow participants to personalize the data they receive through the IESO Reports Site, including:

  • Totalized Delivery Point Data (with Losses or without Losses)

  • Totalized Summary Meter Data (with Losses or without Losses)

  • Totalized Meter Point Data (with Losses or without Losses)

  • Validated Meter Point Data

The response is the following Meter Data Reports published as Confidential Reports on the IESO Reports site:

  • Monthly AQEW/AQEI Report

  • Validated Meter Data (VMD)

  • Totalized Meter Data With Losses (TMD-WL)

  • Totalized Meter Data Without Losses (TMD-WOL)

  • Ad-Hoc Meter Data Requests (MD-AD-HOC)

Daily revenue meter data reports and ad-hoc reports will be published in EDI-867 file format only. The revised file format specification can be found in the Revenue Metering Reports IESO EDI Guide.

Will the IESO's meter data validation include checking the main meter data reading against the alternate meter data reading (where available) and reporting on any discrepancies? If so, will market participants have access to the discrepancy report?

Yes, the Validating, Estimating, and Editing (VEE) process does include comparing metering data collected from the main and the alternate meter. When the difference exceeds the predefined limits, the MSP and MMP will be informed by means of a Meter Trouble Report (MTR).

Will meter data aggregated to the delivery points (point of transaction with the IESO) be available (e.g., independent of settlement statements) for market participants to download, and if so, how?

Meter data available from the revenue metering system can be requested on a daily basis by the authorized participants at the delivery point, summary meter and/or meter point (physical meter) level. Only the Revenue Metering Data Contacts will be able to submit Ad-hoc meter data requests through Online IESO.

Meter data reports for Ad-hoc requests for trade dates within the latest 90 calendar days will be available on the IESO Reports site one calendar day after the request date.

Meter data reports for Ad-hoc requests for trade dates beyond the latest 90 calendar days will be available on the IESO Reports site by next Sunday after the request date.

What time will meter data be available for a trade date? What versions of interval meter data are available to market participants for download?

Interval meter data available for download are:

Validated Meter Data

  • V1 published at TD+1CD

  • V2 published at TD+8BD+1CD (Prelim)

  • V3 published at TD+18BD+1CD (Final)

A Market Participant can submit an Ad-Hoc request any time to download the latest version of Validated Meter Data.

Totalized Meter Data With and Without Losses

  • V1 published at TD+2CD

  • V1 republished at TD+7CD

  • V2 published at TD+8BD+1CD (Prelim)

  • V3 published at TD+18BD+1CD (Final)

Where:  TD – Trade Date; BD – Business Day; CD – Calendar Day

How can the MSP get a copy of the Metering Installation Registration Tool (MIRT)?

A copy of the Metering Installation Registration Tool (MIRT) is available for MSPs through the IESO Portal.