Stakeholder Updates

October 25, 2024

We have adjusted the REM Engagement Schedule to better reflect where we’re at in the iterative design process. Based on input from in-room participants, we have removed the second round of written feedback from the engagement schedule. Further discussions are needed to continue to progress the design details during Sprints 4 through 6 before we ask stakeholders to invest more time and energy into providing meaningful written feedback. The next written feedback cycle will follow Sprint 6.

We welcome and encourage your continued input throughout – if you have comments or questions, please share them during the upcoming Design Sprints or reach out directly to members of our Markets team.

Also note the following timeline adjustments:

• Sprint 5 - Tuesday, Nov. 5 to Thursday, Nov. 7
• Sprint 6 - Monday, Nov. 25 to Thursday, Nov. 28
• Inform Session - Thursday, Dec. 12

See full schedule here or below

August 16, 2024

We have added a number of items for stakeholder information and action.

• Register for the day-long virtual REM Design information session on Sept. 5, 2024
• Review agendas for REM Design Sprints
• Review the options papers for the following workstreams and use the comment matrix provided to submit your feedback by Sept. 6
  • Day-Ahead Market
  • Market Power Mitigation
  • Pricing and Reserve Market
  • Market Clearing
• Review the additional documents posted:
  • Comparison REM Starting Points with Current Marker Overview Chart
  • REM Co-optimization Information
  • Brattle Value of Lost Load: Preliminary Survey of Values for Alberta
• Review stakeholder feedback on Shorter Settlement
• Review stakeholder feedback on Intertie Participation
• Post questions or comment in our new Question Board by noon on Aug. 28

If you missed the registration for in-person participation in the REM design sprints, email stakeholderrelations@aeso.ca. The virtual registration links will be shared soon.

July 24, 2024

The AESO has published the Intent to Register and Agreement to Participate for the fall REM engagements. If you're planning to attend the engagements in-person or virtually, please fill out the Intent to Register form by August 6, 2024. The Agreement to Participate document applies if you're attending any REM engagements in 2024. Ensure you have read and understood it before you submit the Intent to Register form.

July 11, 2024

The Minister of Affordability and Utilities, Nathan Neudorf, has provided the AESO direction on government policy decisions on our path forward for the Restructured Energy Market (REM) design (Direction Letter).

With this clarity, we are pleased to share that the REM technical design will include the following workstreams:

We have adjusted our REM recommendation and design consultation in response to stakeholder feedback and policy decisions. We appreciate your patience and ongoing contributions as we move through this process together. Administrative Scarcity Pricing has been removed from the design, however new reserve products are still required for reliability and will be addressed under Energy and Reserve Pricing.

We will cover each of the workstreams in more detail at the July 18 Information Session and provide our revised engagement approach then.

Written consultation for Shorter Settlement continues and Intertie Participation will kick off shortly. Option papers for both will be shared on July 18 with comments due by August 9. Detailed information about the remaining workstreams will be released on August 16, with the first round of written feedback on those due September 6. Interested stakeholders will then have an opportunity to participate in a more comprehensive series of multi-day in-person sessions and written feedback cycles from September through the end of the year.

We remain committed to consultation that prioritizes open participation, transparency and adaptability and we look forward to working with you to ensure we build a market framework that delivers certainty and economic value for industry and Albertans into the future.

The Transmission Regulation decisions provided in the Minister letter give AESO and stakeholders a view into the changing policy that the REM will need to be designed within. The government supports continued progress of the technical REM design; however more clarity/decisions are needed to fully assess how AESO transmission planning, tariff and system access will be considered and impacted.

To register for the July 18 Information Session, click here.

June 19, 2024

While the AESO has limited details to share on the REM technical design and the engagement schedule at this time, we recognize that many parties are interested in updates to support work planning through the coming months.

The AESO continues to progress design work on the REM in parallel with government policy. We anticipate releasing content through July and August for review and written feedback and will initiate the more time-intensive engagement sessions in the second week of September. The earlier content will focus on Interties and Shorter Settlement, with all other market components to follow.

We remain committed to engaging stakeholders in a timely and comprehensive manner to develop Alberta’s market design and will share more details as they become available.

May 22, 2024

On Friday, May 17, 2024, AESO President and CEO Mike Law and Nicole LeBlanc, Vice President of Markets met with a select group of industry executives representing companies that have made significant investments in Alberta’s grid and/or represent the consumer voice of Albertans, to discuss two options for how energy market offers, offer mitigation and scarcity pricing (pricing options) could be treated within the Restructured Energy Market (REM), and a third REM alternative pricing option.

The three options are based on stakeholder feedback received at the April 2024 Executive Working Group meetings and through the industry-wide survey on the REM. Click Pricing and Mitigation Options and ORDC Technical Primer to view materials provided to meeting representatives.

The organizations that attended the meeting are Alberta Direct Connect Consumer Association, AltaLink, ATCO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association, Capital Power, EDF Renewables, Enfinite, ENMAX, EPCOR, FortisAlberta, Heartland Generation, Industrial Power Consumer Association of Alberta, Kineticor Energy, Maxim Power, Suncor Energy, TransAlta, and the Utilities Consumer Advocate. The Market Surveillance Administrator attended as an observer.

Through the course of the discussion, there was consensus amongst stakeholders that the current planned timelines for developing a detailed market design are very aggressive. While the stakeholders acknowledged that the design timelines are necessarily tight in order to achieve the government objective of a 2026 implementation, they indicated timelines will make it challenging to ensure that full analysis and thorough consultation on critical components of the REM is achieved.

Of the participating stakeholders that were willing to state a preference at the meeting, the REM alternative had the most support, however many participants were unwilling to commit without further detail or supported the REM structure.

For those stakeholders who did prefer the REM alternative, a major rationale was that it most closely aligns with the industry structure they elected to invest in, and they see that as a preferable path forward to investor certainty and easier implementation.

The AESO has shared this feedback with government to inform their policy making.

The AESO will continue to progress design work and share more information on the engagement and design in June. Please watch this page for more details over the coming weeks.