Alberta, Canada.
Wholesale design: real-time energy-only power pool with a separate day-ahead operating-reserve exchange and contracted reliability services.
Energy in AESO trades in 2 layers: Alberta wholesale energy market and Operating Reserve market. Participation in Alberta wholesale energy market is mandatory. Scheduling and settlement, where the cited sources give them, are in the table below.
| Layer | Scheduling | Settlement |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta wholesale energy market (mandatory) | real-time merit-order dispatch | uniform Alberta pool price under the ISO rules |
| Operating Reserve market | day-ahead procurement in defined on-peak, off-peak, AM super-peak, and PM super-peak blocks | active-reserve equilibrium price plus hourly pool price; standby reserve uses premium and activation-price components |
AESO has 8 ancillary-service products, across 7 families — regulation, fast frequency response, contingency reserve, replacement reserve, reactive power & voltage, black start & restoration and other services: Blackstart Service, Fast Frequency Response, Load Shed Service for Imports, Regulating Reserve, Spinning Reserve, Supplemental Reserve, Transmission Must-Run Service, Voltage Regulation. Response timing, direction and eligibility for each are in the table below; a product's full record lists the official sources behind it.
Every value below comes from the official sources listed in that product's full record. Most products cite more than one, and the published sources do not say which of them states each individual value, so the binding is to the product's record rather than to a single document. A missing line means the source does not state that value — never that the value is zero.
Scroll the table sideways for the rest of the columns →
| Service | How it activates | Response | Sustained delivery | Procurement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation | ||||
| Regulating Reserve | Response type pre-contingency continuous Trigger continuous movement within the contracted and dispatched regulating-reserve range Dispatched by automatic generation control and System Controller directive | No deadline established Section 205.4 specifies performance and a minimum ramp capability of 10% of qualified regulating-reserve MW per minute; it does not support treating one fixed time as universal for every qualified range. | Through day-ahead, active; day-ahead standby Pricing design Watt-Ex active or standby Operating Reserve settlement | |
Full record for Regulating Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Continuously balance short-term supply and demand and support frequency through automatic control. What the source does not state It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources | ||||
| Fast frequency response | ||||
| Fast Frequency Response FFR | Response type post-contingency fast frequency Trigger contract-defined frequency trigger or qualifying system event; service remains available until released or for the rule-defined one-hour period Dispatched by automatic frequency response under a service contract and Section 205.9 | No deadline established The response deadline is a contract parameter under Section 205.9; no single public value applies to every FFR procurement stream. | Minimum obligation at least 1 h | Through contract or pilot Pricing design contract-specific; a recurring Market-Based FFR process was being prepared in 2026 |
Full record for Fast Frequency Response — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Arrest and support recovery from rapid frequency decay following sudden loss of imports or internal generation. Notes from the source As of 2026-08-02, AESO described Market-Based FFR as preparing to launch. Existing FFR delivery through LSSi and other contracted arrangements is not an already-operating co-optimized spot market. Checkpoint recap Minimum sustained 1 h What the source does not state The source states a minimum delivery period. It does not state a response time or a maximum duration, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources
| ||||
| Contingency reserve | ||||
| Load Shed Service for Imports LSSi | Response type post-contingency fast frequency Trigger loss of the Alberta-British Columbia intertie or another contract-defined event Dispatched by automatic or manual arming and tripping under the Import Load Shed Agreement | Through competitive multi-year contract Pricing design contract-specific | ||
Full record for Load Shed Service for Imports — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Trip or curtail contracted load after loss of an intertie so Alberta can securely carry a higher import transfer capability. What the source does not state It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources
| ||||
| Spinning Reserve | Response type post-contingency Trigger synchronized generating capability or qualified load response that reaches the dispatched amount within ten minutes Dispatched by System Controller directive and inherent frequency response, as applicable | Expected within 10 min | Through day-ahead, active; day-ahead standby Pricing design Watt-Ex active or standby Operating Reserve settlement | |
Full record for Spinning Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide synchronized contingency reserve and immediate frequency support following an unexpected imbalance. Checkpoint recap Expected within 10 min What the source does not state The source states the response deadline. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources | ||||
| Replacement reserve | ||||
| Supplemental Reserve | Response type post-contingency Trigger qualified generation or load capability available within ten minutes under Section 205.6 Dispatched by System Controller directive | Expected within 10 min | Through day-ahead, active; day-ahead standby Pricing design Watt-Ex active or standby Operating Reserve settlement | |
Full record for Supplemental Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide contingency reserve from resources that need not already be synchronized. Checkpoint recap Expected within 10 min What the source does not state The source states the response deadline. It does not state how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources | ||||
| Reactive power & voltage | ||||
| Voltage Regulation | Response type continuous or directed Trigger facility-specific voltage setpoint and reactive capability under Section 503.4 Dispatched by automatic voltage regulator and System Controller directive | Through mandatory technical service, or directed Pricing design ISO tariff treatment, as applicable | ||
Full record for Voltage Regulation — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Maintain system voltage through automatic voltage regulation and reactive-power capability. What the source does not state It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources | ||||
| Black start & restoration | ||||
| Blackstart Service Blackstart | Response type restoration Trigger restoration-plan and facility-specific contractual performance Dispatched by System Controller restoration instruction | Through contractual Pricing design competitive contract or bilateral terms | ||
Full record for Blackstart Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Self-start without grid power and re-energize the transmission system during restoration. What the source does not state It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources
| ||||
| Other services | ||||
| Transmission Must-Run Service TMR | Response type preventive location-specific Trigger facility- and location-specific transmission reliability need Dispatched by AESO contract and System Controller directive | Through bilateral or competitive contract; directed service, when required Pricing design contract-specific or tariff-directed compensation | ||
Full record for Transmission Must-Run Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Keep location-specific generation online at directed output when transmission capability is insufficient for local demand or reliability. What the source does not state It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained, and the volume is either set per auction or not published as a standing figure — the source does not say which. Sources
| ||||
No central capacity market. AESO has 1 capacity/adequacy arrangement — Energy-only resource adequacy framework — and it works differently.
Alberta continued to operate an energy-only wholesale market. The prior capacity-market initiative was cancelled in 2019. Government approved the Restructured Energy Market ISO rules in March 2026, with implementation targeted to begin in mid-2027, but REM did not create an operating capacity market or a 2025 capacity auction.
Current as of · from the Global Electricity Market Catalogue v1.2.0 (compiled to , CC BY 4.0, rendered here with wording edited for readability). Facts belong to the linked official authorities; verify the current rules before design or bidding decisions.
The markets index holds the full set. For what the grid demands of a battery here, see the grid-code ride-through atlas.