The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is the

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government ...

responsible for operating the

electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had u ...

and directing the operation of the bulk electrical system in the province of

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. It is one of seven

independent system operator A regional transmission organization (RTO) in the United States is an electric power transmission system operator (TSO) that coordinates, controls, and monitors a multi-state electric grid. The transfer of electricity between states is considered ...

s in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

. The IESO was established in April 1999 as the Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO) under the

government of Ontario The government of Ontario (french: Gouvernement de l'Ontario) is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown—represented in the province by the lieutenant governor� ...

during the premiership of

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

in preparation for

deregulation Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a ...

of the province's electrical supply and transmission system. As part of government plans to privatize the assets of

Ontario Hydro Ontario Hydro, established in 1906 as the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario, was a publicly owned electricity utility in the Province of Ontario. It was formed to build transmission lines to supply municipal utilities with electricity g ...

, the utility was split into five separate Crown corporations with the IMO responsible for directing the flow of electricity across the high-voltage, province-wide network owned by

Hydro One Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...

and other transmission companies. It was also given the responsibility of managing and operating the competitive wholesale electricity market and working with neighbouring jurisdictions to manage an integrated North American electricity network. The IMO was renamed to the IESO in January 2005 as a result of the passage of Bill 100, which redefined the direction of deregulation and also led to the creation of the

Ontario Power Authority The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) was an independent, non-profit corporation established through the Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004 (Bill 100). Licensed by the Ontario Energy Board, it reported to the Ontario legislature through the Ministry ...

. The IESO is an independent, not-for-profit entity. It is governed by a board whose directors are appointed by the government of Ontario, its fees and licences were set by the

Ontario Energy Board The Ontario Energy Board regulates natural gas and electricity utilities in the province of Ontario, Canada. This includes setting rates, and licensing all participants in the electricity sector including the Independent Electricity System Opera ...

and it operates independently of all participants in the electricity market. In April 2012, the Energy Minister of Ontario Chris Bentley introduced legislation in Parliament to merge the

and IESO. The merger was expected to take place in late 2012. After the

Premier of Ontario The premier of Ontario (french: premier ministre de l'Ontario) is the head of government of Ontario. Under the Westminster system, the premier governs with the confidence of a majority the elected Legislative Assembly; as such, the premier typ ...

Dalton McGuinty resigned in the fall of 2012, the merger was postponed. As of January 1, 2015 the IESO and the

were merged.

References

External links

*
Ontario Energy Board"Where is my Electricity Coming From at this Hour? (if I lived in Ontario)" (Canadian Nuclear Society, with data from IESO)
{{Regional transmission organization (north america) Ontario electricity policy Crown corporations of Ontario Ontario Hydro Ontario government departments and agencies Electric power transmission system operators in Canada 1999 establishments in Ontario

See also

References

External links