Ontario, Canada.
Wholesale design: locational day-ahead and real-time energy markets with co-optimized real-time operating reserve, contracted ancillary services, and an annual seasonal capacity auction.
Energy in IESO trades in 2 layers: Day-Ahead Market and Real-Time Energy and Operating Reserve Markets. Participation in Real-Time Energy and Operating Reserve Markets is mandatory. Scheduling and settlement, where the cited sources give them, are in the table below.
| Layer | Scheduling | Settlement |
|---|---|---|
| Day-Ahead Market | hourly schedules with the renewed-market calculation and settlement framework | financially binding day-ahead locational prices |
| Real-Time Energy and Operating Reserve Markets (mandatory) | five-minute schedules and prices | real-time locational energy prices and uniform clearing price for each operating-reserve class, subject to market rules |
IESO has 7 ancillary-service products, across 5 families — regulation, contingency reserve, operating reserve, reactive power & voltage and black start & restoration: 10-Minute Non-Synchronized Reserve, 10-Minute Synchronized Reserve, 30-Minute Reserve, Certified Black Start Facility Service, Regulation Service, Reliability Must-Run Service, Reactive Support and Voltage Control Service. 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 | ||||
| Regulation Service | Response type pre-contingency continuous Trigger continuous symmetric scheduled range around the resource operating point Dispatched by automatic control signal | Through multi-year or bilateral contract Contracted 169.3 MW Typically scheduled 100 MW Pricing design contract-specific | ||
Full record for Regulation Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Match total generation and load moment to moment and correct frequency variations. What the source does not state The source states a contracted volume. It does not state a response time or how long delivery has to be sustained. Sources | ||||
| Contingency reserve | ||||
| 10-Minute Non-Synchronized Reserve 10NS | Response type post-contingency Trigger dispatchable capability available within ten minutes; higher-quality synchronized reserve may satisfy this requirement through the reserve hierarchy Dispatched by IESO dispatch instruction | Expected within 10 min | Minimum obligation at least 1 h | Through real-time, five-minute Pricing design five-minute class market-clearing price; energy payment if activated |
Full record for 10-Minute Non-Synchronized Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide qualified non-synchronized standby energy or demand reduction after an unexpected system event. Checkpoint recap Expected within 10 min · Minimum sustained 1 h What the source does not state The source states the response deadline and a minimum delivery period. It does not state 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
| ||||
| 10-Minute Synchronized Reserve 10S | Response type post-contingency Trigger synchronized dispatchable capability; the overall OR requirement covers the largest contingency plus half of the second-largest contingency Dispatched by IESO dispatch instruction | Expected within 10 min | Minimum obligation at least 1 h | Through real-time, five-minute Pricing design five-minute class market-clearing price; energy payment if activated |
Full record for 10-Minute Synchronized Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide synchronized standby energy or demand reduction after an unexpected system event. Checkpoint recap Expected within 10 min · Minimum sustained 1 h What the source does not state The source states the response deadline and a minimum delivery period. It does not state 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
| ||||
| 30-Minute Reserve 30R | Response type post-contingency Trigger dispatchable capability available within thirty minutes; ten-minute reserve classes can also satisfy the thirty-minute requirement through the product hierarchy Dispatched by IESO dispatch instruction | Expected within 30 min | Minimum obligation at least 1 h | Through real-time, five-minute Pricing design five-minute class market-clearing price; energy payment if activated |
Full record for 30-Minute Reserve — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Provide additional non-synchronized standby energy or demand reduction within thirty minutes. Checkpoint recap Expected within 30 min · Minimum sustained 1 h What the source does not state The source states the response deadline and a minimum delivery period. It does not state 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
| ||||
| Operating reserve | ||||
| Reliability Must-Run Service RMR | Response type preventive location-specific Trigger facility- and local-reliability-specific Dispatched by contract terms and IESO instruction | Through contractual, when needed Pricing design contract-specific | ||
Full record for Reliability Must-Run Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Require location-specific energy or operating-reserve offers when needed to maintain grid 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 | ||||
| Reactive power & voltage | ||||
| Reactive Support and Voltage Control Service RSVC | Response type continuous or directed Trigger prevailing system conditions and facility-specific reactive capability Dispatched by automatic voltage control and IESO instruction | Through contractual Pricing design contract-specific | ||
Full record for Reactive Support and Voltage Control Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Maintain acceptable localized reactive-power and voltage levels on the IESO-controlled grid. 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 | ||||
| Certified Black Start Facility Service Certified Black Start | Response type restoration Trigger facility-specific certification and restoration plan Dispatched by IESO restoration instruction | Through contractual Pricing design contract-specific | ||
Full record for Certified Black Start Facility Service — document bound, page for these figures not recorded What it is for Restart generation without an external power source and support restoration after a blackout. 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 | ||||
Yes — IESO Capacity Auction is a central capacity market.
The auction is the short-term balancing component of Ontario's broader resource-adequacy framework. Existing, non-committed demand response, generation, storage, and qualified imports may participate.
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.