Work on reliability standards reveals potential long-term cost savings

In the process of reviewing Ontario’s reliability standards, electricity industry experts have found opportunities not just to improve service quality, but to reduce long-term costs to consumers at the same time.

Highlights

The IESO has acknowledged that more electrical capacity may be needed in Ontario by the summer of 2021. Despite relatively ample supplies of energy, improvements are needed to ensure the system is able to get the energy to everyone who needs it during critical periods. What’s not clear is how to secure the additional capacity.
On September 28 Ontario’s IESO tabled an entirely new approach for securing power supply capacity. It relies on managing three different time frames simultaneously. How will the three processes work together? That’s a key question in a major new consultation now underway.
A refreshed and sharpened set of reliability standards could be the subtle force that helps Ontario procure capacity efficiently, helping to reduce uncertainty for investors while reducing costs for consumers.
Indigenous Leadership: Fisher River solar project has almost 3,000 solar panels and was built entirely by Indigenous employees.
FERC order 2222 empowers new technologies to come online, hopefully enabling them to participate on a level playing field, further enhancing competition, encouraging innovation and driving down costs for consumers.
On August 19, LS Power unveiled what it claims as the largest battery energy storage project in the world, Gateway Energy Storage.
AI Power: Veritone Energy’s patented solutions use AI to optimize energy distribution across diverse energy grids.
Triple threat: Australia plans to supply 20% of Singapore’s electricity with solar power shipped through a new undersea cable 3700 km long. It could set records in 3 categories: the world’s largest battery, the world’s largest solar farm, and the world’s longest high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission system.

Supply tightens in Ontario, prompting risk mitigation

The latest outlook for the Ontario electric system foresees tighter supply conditions and potential risks as soon as the summer of 2021.

IESO proposes 3-part Resource Adequacy framework

In the kickoff to a long-awaited consultation process on Resource Adequacy, the IESO tabled a new framework to competitively acquire capacity to meet short-, mid-, and long-term electricity system needs.

LS Power claims largest battery storage project

LS Power unveiled what it claims as the largest battery energy storage project in the world, Gateway Energy Storage.

Fisher River First Nation opens 1 MW solar in Manitoba

Fisher River Cree Nation announced the launch August 19 of what they say is the largest solar project in Manitoba.

FERC’s “historic” Order 2222 opens doors to aggregators

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a historic final rule, Order 2222, September 17, enabling distributed energy resource aggregators to compete in all regional organized wholesale electric markets.

AI system claims a first in integrating variable resources

Calling itself the creator of the world’s first operating system for artificial intelligence, Veritone, Inc. announced October 6 that it had entered the energy sector with a suite of proprietary, predictive AI solutions intended to help utilities increase profitability and improve grid reliability as they make the transition to renewables.

The Magazine of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario