Connection Project Reporting

2023

• April 2023
• March 2023
• February 2023
• January 2023

2022

• December 2022
• November 2022
• October 2022
• September 2022
• August 2022
• July 2022
• June 2022
• May 2022
• April 2022
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022

2021

• December 2021
• November 2021
• October 2021
• September 2021
• August 2021
• July 2021
• June 2021
• May 2021
• April 2021
• March 2021
• February 2021
• January 2021

2020

• December 2020
• November 2020
• October 2020
• September 2020
• August 2020
• July 2020
• June 2020
• May 2020
• April 2020
• March 2020
• February 2020
• January 2020

The AESO Connection Project List and Queue were introduced in 2010 with the newly implemented Connection Process. The project list included all active Connection projects and was implemented to provide stakeholders with transparency of the requests for system access service in the province. The queue included only those projects that had passed Gate 2 of the process, which at the time was the criteria for including projects in connection and planning studies and forecasts and was used for remedial action scheme (RAS) purposes.

Since that time, both the project list and queue had remained largely the same, while some AESO practices have evolved; Gate 2 is no longer used as the criteria for project inclusion, and RAS is now a function of reliability mitigation and market impact. As such, the queue no longer served its original intended objectives, and created confusion for stakeholders as to its current purpose. The AESO therefore determined that the project list and queue would be merged into a single, enhanced project list.

To effectively implement this change, the AESO collected feedback from stakeholders on their use of the project list and queue through various channels, including at stakeholder sessions, interactions with project team members, and a stakeholder survey. The initial feedback was evaluated, and in response the AESO proposed a number of enhancements to the project list and map during the September 2020 Changes to the Connection Process stakeholder session. Following the session, interested stakeholders were invited to provide feedback on the proposed changes. Since that time, the AESO has evaluated all stakeholder responses and has implemented the updated project list and map effective March 2021.

The AESO has implemented the following changes to the project list. More information on individual columns in the project list can be found in the new guide.

• Removal of “Entered Queue” date column
  • The AESO has removed this field as it does not serve a reporting purpose in the current AESO Connection Process.
• Grouping projects by status categories
  • The enhanced project list groups projects by their current status, including “Active”, “On Hold”, “ISD Under Review”, “Cancelled” and “Energized”. This status replaces the date in the ISD column for all but “Active” and “Energized” projects. This information was not previously available on the project list.
  • This change was implemented to provide additional visibility on the progress of a project towards the in-service date, and to remove in-service dates which are no longer accurate or are being re-evaluated. This change is intended to improve the accuracy of the in-service dates that are provided on the project list.
• Inclusion column
  • Projects on the enhanced list now have an “Inclusion” field, which indicates if the project has met the AESO’s project inclusion criteria for being included in other project studies. This information was not previously available on the project list.
  • This change was implemented to provide additional information on the progress of a project, indicating when the AESO has deemed the project to have sufficient certainty that it will proceed to energization.
• Energization groupings
  • Projects that have staged energizations now show the capacity and in-service date of those energizations as additional columns on the same project line item. Previously multiple energizations were listed as separate project line items with a subproject identifier (e.g. Project 1234 Subproject 2), and individual energizations were removed once they were in service.
  • This change was implemented to keep all project information grouped in one-line item on the project list. This provides a complete picture of staged projects through their entire lifecycle, rather than presenting energizations individually.
• Recently cancelled and energized
  • The enhanced project list now includes projects that have energized or cancelled within the previous three months. Previously these projects were removed from the list once they were energized or cancelled.
  • This change was implemented to provide more visibility of why projects no longer appear on the project list, and to highlight recent activity.
• Project list guide
  • A guide has been created to provide details on the information that is provided in the list, including links to relevant resources.
  • This guide is intended to improve clarity on the information being published.
• Addition of project map
  • In addition to the improved project list, the AESO has made project information available in an interactive online map. The map allows users to filter and search by project details and make use of standard geographic map functionality. The information displayed on the map will be updated monthly along with the project list.
  • A guide has also been created to support stakeholders in using the map.