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    Market Participant Choice

    A Market Participant Choice (MPC) Project is a variation on a Connection Project that gives market participants the opportunity to build an agreed-to portion of the transmission facility, with ownership of those facilities transferred to the designated Transmission Facility Owner (TFO) upon completion.  It is intended to enable choice while maintaining integrity and reliability.

    • Eligibility

      Only certain projects are eligible for MPC unless otherwise agreed to between TFO and market participant. For more information on MPC and the eligibility requirements, please refer to Section 24.31 of the Transmission Regulation.

      Market participants should note that there is a schedule risk related to unanticipated change as the AESO works to continuously refine the MPC process. The AESO encourages the market participant to work closely with the TFO and Integrated Project Manager (IPM) throughout the project.

    • How to Start an MPC Project

      An MPC Project will follow the Connection Process, but with specific MPC variations noted within that process. The market participant may indicate their interest in being an MPC Project on the system access service request (SASR) that is submitted to the AESO in Stage 0. Note: If the market participant determines after Stage 0 that they are interested in changing the project type to MPC or if they determine they are no longer interested in pursuing the MPC option, they may submit a project change proposal to the AESO for consideration. The market participant should be aware that the change may result in a delay to the project or cancellation of the SASR, and the related project. See ID #2018-018T for more information about project change proposals.

    • Process

      The TFO will submit a Facility Application, Service Proposal and other deliverables for their part of the build and the market participant will submit similar documents for their portion of the build. 

      The AESO strongly encourages, and may request that all parties coordinate their respective public consultations.

      Once the Permit and License is granted by the AUC, the market participant ensures construction of the agreed-upon facilities is completed. During the commissioning period, post-energization, the TFO and market participant will jointly operate the transmission facilities until the end of the commissioning period, as outlined in Section 24.31 of the Transmission Regulation. The market participant must familiarize themselves with the ISO Rules and Alberta Reliability Standards as these will apply to the market participant during the commissioning period when they are responsible for the operation of their portion of the transmission facilities.

      Upon completion of the build and commissioning, the facilities must transfer to the incumbent TFO for ownership and operation via the Asset Transfer Agreement (ATA) provided below. 

    • Commercial Documents

      The AESO plays no role in the ATA and does not facilitate negotiations in this regard between the market participant and the TFO. The AESO requires official notice that the ATA is in place prior to filing the NID. The MPC commercial documents are provided here for reference but any questions pertaining to them should be directed to the appropriate TFO.