Reliability Standards

Reliability standards are criteria and standards, including an amendment to a standard or criterion, relating to the reliable operation of the integrated power system established, and declared in force by a standards authority, such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Northeast Power Coordinating Council (NPCC).

The IESO is a registered entity with the NERC, a full member of NPCC and and an active participant in the North-American electric reliability arena. In particular the IESO is involved in the ongoing development of standards and criteria by NERC and NPCC.

The goal of this involvement is to produce clearly written and implementable standards that are in the best interests of Ontario and the North American electricity industry in general.

NERC, acting as the Electric Reliability Organization (ERO), has established an open and transparent standards development process that governs the development, modification or withdrawal of electric reliability standards that apply to the bulk power system in North America.

This FERC-approved, ANSI-accredited process allows owners, operators and users of the bulk power system, to participate in the development of reliability standards by reviewing, contributing comments and voting to approve these draft standards. For more on this process, see the latest version of NERC’s Standard Processes Manual on the NERC website.

NPCC has the authority to develop reliability criteria and requirements that are more stringent and more specific than the corresponding NERC reliability standards requirements.

These criteria and requirements are stated in regional standards and Regional Reliability Directories (Directories), which are developed through a process that is similar in many ways to the NERC standards development process. Visit the NPCC website for more information on the NPCC standard development processes.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has legislative authority to review reliability standards approved by standards authorities and make orders preventing the operation of a standard in Ontario by referring (or remanding) the standard back to the standards authority.

In addition, the OEB could refer a standard back to the standards authority in the interest of coordination with other jurisdictions. This process is known as the OEB Remand Process is described in Schedule G of the Budget Measures and Interim Appropriation Act, 2008 [Bill 44].

Visit the OEB Remand Process page for more information.

The IESO is actively involved in the drafting, development and revision of reliability standards, particularly those of greater relevance to Ontario. However, the IESO currently has one vote in a ballot pool of many North American industry players.

Although we have been successful in getting Ontario’s position heard by submitting comments and participating on standards drafting teams, we recommend that Ontario market participants participate in the standards development process, especially in the balloting, given the volume of voting potential in other jurisdictions.

To participate in balloting of NERC standards, market participants must register in NERC’s Registered Ballot Body on the NERC website.

To participate in the development of NPCC regional standards, Ontario market participants must become members of NPCC.

To help market participants become more engaged in the development of reliability standards that could have an impact on Ontario’s electricity industry, the IESO established the Reliability Standards Standing Committee (RSSC), which provides a forum to discuss and develop consensus comments on new and developing reliability standards.

Vist the RSSC page for more information.