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    View all stakeholder engagements

    Section 306.7

    Proposed Amendments to ISO Rules Section 306.7, Mothball Outage Reporting

    Application filed with Commission

    In Decision 28081-D01-2024 dated February 15, 2024, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) denied Proposed Amended Section 306.7 of the ISO Rules, Mothball Outage Reporting, and Consequential Amendments.

    An application for approval of Proposed Amended Section 306.7 of the ISO Rules, Mothball Outage Reporting, and Consequential Amendments was submitted on March 7, 2023 to the AUC. For information regarding the application, or on the status of the proceeding, please visit the AUC’s eFiling site and go to proceeding #28081.

    Purpose

    In the Letter of Notice for Development the AESO proposes to consult with Stakeholders on the Mothball rule in order to assess the need to address various matters, including:

    • the economic requirements to temporarily remove generating asset from the market;
    • mothball assets’ effects on the efficient use of the transmission system;
    • requirements to ensure transparency in reporting and effective notification to the market related to the initiation and cancellation of a mothball outage;
    • the maximum duration of mothball outages;
    • other elements of the existing Mothball rule that may be identified as being in need of amendment; and
    • whether changes are required to other ISO rules in order to support a consistent and coordinated approach to the physical removal of generating capacity from the energy market, particularly in consideration of long lead time assets and generation retirement.
    • Letter of Notice | Aug. 25, 2022

      Purpose

      The AESO is continuing its consultation with Stakeholders and has completed the first draft of the Mothball Rule Amendments. In developing the proposed Mothball Rule Amendments, the AESO took into consideration Stakeholder feedback and ensured that the draft rule sufficiently reflects the design and accompanying processes.

      AESO replies to stakeholder comments

      In accordance with Alberta Utilities Commission (“Commission”) Rule 017, Procedures and Process for Development of ISO Rules and Filing of ISO Rules with the Alberta Utilities Commission, the AESO is providing replies to Stakeholder comments on the Proposed Mothball Rule Amendments. The AESO’s responses to comments, including the AESO’s rationale or basis for its position, and an explanation for why certain positions were rejected or accepted, are set out in the Stakeholder Comment and AESO Response Matrix.  

      The AESO expects to submit its application for approval of Section 306.7 with the Commission between late January and early February, 2023.

      Letter of Notice materials

    • Design Document | April 21, 2022

      Purpose and request for feedback

      The Letter of Notice for Feedback states that on Nov. 4, 2021, the AESO issued the Mothball Outage Reporting Rule Amendment Options & Recommendations Paper (“Options & Recommendations Paper”) for stakeholder feedback. The AESO has considered the feedback and has decided to move forward with Option 2, Alternative B from the Options & Recommendation Paper.

      The AESO has developed the Design Document to outline the approach to implement Option 2, Alternative B and is seeking stakeholder feedback on the implementation considerations before moving to ISO rule development. The AESO will use this feedback to ensure that the draft rules, which it anticipates posting in Q3 2022, sufficiently reflect the design and accompanying processes.

      Thank you to all Stakeholders who participated in this consultation. All written comments received will be considered in the AESO’s finalization of the proposed amended Section 306.7.

      Design Document materials

       

    • Options & Recommendations | Nov. 4, 2021

      Purpose

      Following a review of stakeholder comments and discussion during stakeholder session 2, the AESO required further consideration of the remaining components of the rule development, namely transmission access, mothball duration, and subsequent mothballs/extensions.

      The objective of the Options & Recommendations Paper is to present the AESO’s analysis of these key issues and to outline various alternatives. Throughout the consultation and in this paper, the principles of fairness, open competition, cost causation, effective price signals, and stability apply to the AESO’s consideration of the issues raised regarding the Mothball Rule.

      Request for feedback

      In the Letter of Notice for Feedback the AESO issued a notice to Stakeholders, on June 21, 2021, regarding the next steps of the Section 306.7 consultation. These next steps included:

      • Developing a paper that summarizes the options for addressing the issues relating to transmission access, maximum duration, and subsequent mothball outage that have been identified by the AESO and discussed with Stakeholders; and
      • Posting the Options & Recommendations Paper for Stakeholder review and feedback.

      Pursuant to these next steps, the AESO has developed the Options & Recommendations Paper, which includes details of the options identified, advantages and disadvantages of each of the options, and the AESO’s recommended option. The AESO is now soliciting stakeholder feedback.

      Pursuant to Alberta Utilities Commission Rule 017, Procedures and Process for Development of ISO Rules and Filing of ISO Rules with the Alberta Utilities Commission, (“AUC Rule 017”) written comments received from Stakeholders in response to the Alberta Electric System Operator’s (“AESO”) November 4, 2021 Letter of Notice for development of the Options & Recommendations Paper and proposed amended Section 306.7 have been posted on the AESO website.

      Thank you to all Stakeholders who participated in the ISO rules comment process. All written comments received will be considered in the AESO’s finalization of the Options & Recommendations Paper and proposed amended Section 306.7 and have been posted on the AESO website.

      Options & Recommendations materials

    • Session 2 | April 29, 2021

      The AESO hosted a virtual stakeholder consultation session on April 29, 2021 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

      Purpose

      The Invitation for Stakeholder Consultation Session #2 states this Stakeholder session will provide Stakeholders with details on the in-scope items for the Mothball review initiative and give Stakeholders the opportunity to provide feedback and seek clarity. Specifically, the AESO is seeking Stakeholder participation in round-table discussions on the issues and alternatives and requesting feedback on topics where the AESO has identified a preferred alternative.

      Stakeholder comments

      Thank you to all Stakeholders who participated in this ISO rules comment process. All written comments received will be considered in the AESO's development of the proposed amendments to Section 306.7 and can be found in the materials section below.

      Session 2 materials

    • Session 1 | Dec. 1, 2020

      The AESO hosted a virtual stakeholder consultation session on Dec. 1, 2020 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

      Purpose

      The Invitation for Stakeholder Consultation Session states this stakeholder session will provide Stakeholders with an overview of the Mothball rule initiative, issues to be resolved and proposed scope as stated in the Oct. 14, 2020 Letter of Notice posted on the AESO website. This session will give Stakeholders an opportunity to ask questions and give feedback on the proposed scope and consultation process.

      Stakeholder comments

      Thank you to all Stakeholders who participated in this ISO rules comment process. All written comments received will be considered in the AESO's development of the proposed amendments to Section 306.7 and can be found in the materials section below.

      Session 1 materials

    • Notice for Development | Oct. 14, 2020

      Purpose

      Letter of Notice for Development of the following:

      1. Proposed Amendments to Section 306.7 of the ISO rules, Mothball Outage Reporting (“Section 306.7”)

      Stakeholder comments

      Thank you to all Stakeholders who participated in this ISO rules comment process. All written comments received will be considered in the AESO's development of the proposed amendments to Section 306.7 and can be found in the materials section below.

      Notice for Development materials

    If you have any other questions, please contact rules_comments@aeso.ca  and subscribe to our stakeholder newsletter for updates.

    Section 306.7