Determining Market Clearing Prices for Energy

The wholesale price for electricity in Ontario (called the Market Clearing Price, or MCP) is based on bids and offers into the market from dispatchable facilities and boundary entities, and on supply and demand from non-dispatchable facilities. The market clearing price for energy is set for each five-minute interval.

Energy and Operating Reserve Prices

Every five minutes the following real-time market prices are determined:

• A market clearing price for energy across Ontario.
• A market clearing price for energy at each of the twelve intertie zones with neighbouring markets.
• A market clearing price for each of the three operating reserve classes across Ontario.
• A market clearing price for 10 minute non-synchronized and 30 minute operating reserve at each of the twelve intertie zones with neighbouring markets.

In addition to the five-minute prices, each hour a calculation is performed to determine the Hourly Ontario Energy Price (HOEP). HOEP is determined by using the average of the five-minute Ontario energy prices. HOEP is used as the wholesale price for electricity for non-dispatchable generators and non-dispatchable loads.

These prices are available on the IESO Web site from the Today’s Market and Market Data pages.