Load settlement

We have a duty to monitor compliance with the load settlement requirements set out in Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) Rule 021: Settlement System Code Rules (AUC Rule 021) in accordance with Section 103.12 of the ISO rules, Compliance Monitoring and our role set out in applicable legislation. Load settlement compliance monitoring ensures that electricity consumed across the province is billed to the correct retailer each month. Load settlement agents (LSAs), wire owners (WOs), retailers, and meter data managers (MDMs) are monitored for compliance with AUC Rule 021.

AUC Rule 021 sets out the AESO’s responsibility to monitor the following:

“(a) Reports produced by MDMs and LSAs in accordance with the Section 11.
(b) All other market participants’ self-reporting relevant to the code, including cumulative meter reading performance metrics reported in the AUC Rule 002: Service Quality and Reliability Performance Monitoring and Reporting for Owners of Electric Distribution Systems and for Gas Distributors.
(c) Compliance of market participants with the requirements of the code in general and particularly focusing on any areas of the code that the Commission may identify as a priority to the ISO…”

Compliance issues found as part of AESO compliance monitoring are reported to the AUC per Section 103.12. Section 103.12 sets out the requirements for the ISO and market participants with respect to monitoring compliance with the ISO rules, Alberta Reliability Standards and AUC Rule 021. Among other requirements, Section 103.12 describes how the ISO:

May learn of cases of potential non-compliance and how it reviews the facts available with respect to the issue,
Confidentially manages compliance matters,
Utilizes a information request process to obtain additional information related to potential non-compliances, and
At the conclusion of an investigation regarding compliance with AUC Rule 021, reports to the AUC.

Meter data manager (MDM) statistics
As per Section 11.2.1 of AUC Rule 021, meter data managers (MDMs) are required to submit monthly interval metering data reports to the AESO by the last business day of each month for the monthly and final settlement runs performed during that same month.

MDM reporting template
Submit completed reports to loadsettlementcompliance@aeso.ca.
MDM statistics for interval metering
- 2024 MDM Statistics[Posted: November 7, 2024]
- 2023 MDM Statistics[Posted: February 14, 2024]
- 2022 MDM Statistics[Posted: January 6, 2023]
- 2021 MDM Statistics[Posted: January 13, 2022]
- 2020 MDM Statistics[Posted: January 7, 2021]
- 2019 MDM Statistics[Posted: January 15, 2020]
Load settlement agent (LSA) System Performance Diagnostic Reports (SPDR)

As per Section 11.2.2 of AUC Rule 021, LSAs are required to submit System Performance Diagnostic Reports (SPDRs) for each final settlement run on a monthly basis. These must be submitted to the AESO within five business days of each final settlement run.
LSA SPDR template
Submit completed reports to loadsettlementcompliance@aeso.ca.
Post-final Adjustment Mechanism (PFAM)

LSAs are responsible for identifying changes to data that affect periods following final settlement and then initiating the Post-final Adjustment Mechanism (PFAM) process as described in Section 5.3.3 of AUC Rule 021.

However, there may be instances where the PFAM process will be initiated by the following market participants: retailers, MDMs, WOs, WSPs and the ISO, who may submit this form to the LSA and the ISO, as appropriate.
Unaccounted-for energy (UFE) zone-specific tolerance

As required by Section 4.2.2 (2)(d) of AUC Rule 021, the AESO makes the average-zone UFE calculations available to all market participants. The AESO has calculated the following values using the average of the last 12 monthly UFE averages for all settlement zones.
The purpose of the settlement zone-specific UFE is to account for any deviations in settlement that may exist within each settlement zone. In order to meet the overall UFE tolerance guidelines, the UFE for any given zone must fall within the tolerances provided in Section 4.2 of AUC Rule 021.
There are two types of tolerances: general and zone-specific. The general tolerance is a broader tolerance that the zone-specific tolerances fit within.
The zone-specific ranges are calculated by adding or subtracting the zone-specific threshold from the actual average-zone UFE. Where the calculated value is greater than the general threshold, the maximum value of the general threshold is used—this has been indicated by the value highlighted in yellow below.
VLTrader

As per AUC Rule 021, each market participant that provides transactions identified in AUC Rule 021 to another market participant shall transmit a copy of that transaction to the AESO. The current mechanism for exchanging transactions is VLTrader.
Please direct any VLTrader questions or connection requests to loadsettlementcompliance@aeso.ca.
Compliance and Data Management System (CDMS)

The Compliance and Data Management System (CDMS) assists the AESO in monitoring market participant compliance to AUC Rule 021. Compliance with AUC Rule 021 involves the exchange of many different types of transaction data between market participants. This transaction data is sent by the market participants to the AESO where it is validated and stored within CDMS.
The AESO Compliance Monitoring group uses CDMS to manage this data and report on it to ensure compliance with the requirements as specified in AUC Rule 021.
LSAs and MDMs may request limited access to CDMS in order to monitor their own data by contacting loadsettlementcompliance@aeso.ca.
Complaint submission

In regard to contraventions of AUC Rule 021, market participants may submit complaints in accordance with Section 103.12 of the ISO rules, Compliance Monitoring.
Complaints should be submitted to loadsettlementcompliance@aeso.ca.
New retailers

If you are a new retailer, please see Joining the market.
Micro-generation

For more information regarding micro-generation, please see Joining the market.
Downloadable forms
- SPDR template
- MDM reporting template