Emergency Preparedness

The Need for Emergency Plans

While the IESO and all market participants strive to assure the reliability of the IESO-controlled grid at all times, we also need to be ready for emergency situations and must be able to respond to all threats and hazards whether natural or man-made. Therefore, all market participants must prepare emergency plans that describe how they will respond to emergencies affecting the supply or delivery of electricity. Chapter 5, Section 11 of the Market Rules describes the planning requirements for emergency preparedness and system restoration.

Section 39 of The Electricity Act (1998) requires the IESO to assist in coordinating market participants' plans. To accomplish this, the stakeholder-represented Emergency Preparedness Task Force (EPTF), chaired by the IESO's Chief Operating Officer, has been active since 1998 to facilitate and oversee these efforts.

What Market Participants Need to Do

All market participants must submit to the IESO an Emergency Preparedness Plan that describes:

Your emergency response activation process
The actions you take to mitigate the impact of extended outages on public health and safety
How you participate in emergency drills and exercises to test your plans
Your internal and external communications processes
How you coordinate restoration and recovery actions with others outside your company

Your emergency preparedness plans proved essential when many market participants and the IESO responded to the August 2003 widespread blackout that affected much of northeastern Canada and the U.S.

Emergency Planning

The Emergency Preparedness Task Force (EPTF), chaired by the IESO, provides overall direction and oversight in co-ordinating Ontario's electricity emergency planning efforts. All market participants are welcome to participate in the EPTF, which includes representatives from government agencies. The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan describes the framework for this collaboration across Ontario's electricity industry.

The EPTF works closely with the Ministry of Energy and Emergency Management Ontario to ensure that electricity industry emergency plans support Ontario's Provincial Emergency Plan. In our post- 9/11 world, this includes critical infrastructure protection initiatives such as physical and cyber security, and critical interdependencies with other industry sectors such as telecommunications, oil and natural gas. The EPTF assigns stakeholder-represented working groups to carry out this work.

Emergency Response

Market participants activate their own emergency plans according to local circumstances. In the event of a large-scale electricity emergency such as occurred during the January 1998 ice-storm and the August 2003 blackout, the Ontario electricity industry's Crisis Management Support Team (CMST) is activated.

The Crisis Management Support Team (CMST) provides a forum for key Ontario electricity industry representatives to provide early warnings of events that may have an impact on the reliability of the electricity system. It also helps co-ordinate consequence management. CMST representatives have sufficient management authority to provide strategic information and influence decision-making on behalf of their organizations. The CMST shares information on the status of the situation, identifies issues, and provides guidance for response and recovery strategy, but takes no operational decision-making accountabilities away from participating companies. During emergency incidents, the CMST is an essential source of information to the Ontario Government's Provincial Emergency Operations Centre.

The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan (OEEP) gives details on the CMST's structure and responsibilities.

The Ontario Power System Restoration Plan

The Ontario Power System Restoration Plan (OPSRP) details the technical requirements to expediently restore the IESO-controlled grid after a partial or complete blackout.

Market participants who own or operate "restoration-related breakers" as defined by the OPSRP must submit a Restoration Plan Attachment that outlines to the IESO how they will meet their obligations to support the OPSRP.

Resources to Assist Market Participants

The following documents will help you meet your emergency planning requirements:

The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan (OEEP) includes 8 key planning criteria that must be addressed by market participants in their emergency plans. The IESO Reliability Compliance Program form 1608 is to be submitted annually to the IESO as part of your annual review process.
Market Participant Emergency Planning Guidelines
This guide is based on the CAN/CSA Z731-95 standard for developing emergency preparedness plans.
The Emergency Drills and Exercises Guide is a practical guide to developing and conducting emergency preparedness drills and exercises. It also describes the large-scale emergency restoration exercises conducted since 2001.

Further Information

For further information please contact emergency.preparedness@ieso.ca.

Useful Web Links


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Therefore, all market participants must prepare emergency plans that describe how they will respond to emergencies affecting the supply or delivery of electricity. Chapter 5, Section 11 of the Market Rules describes the planning requirements for emergency preparedness and system restoration. Section 39 of The Electricity Act (1998) requires the IESO to assist in coordinating market participants' plans. To accomplish this, the stakeholder-represented Emergency Preparedness Task Force (EPTF), chaired by the IESO's Chief Operating Officer, has been active since 1998 to facilitate and oversee these efforts. What Market Participants Need to Do All market participants must submit to the IESO an Emergency Preparedness Plan that describes: Your emergency response activation process The actions you take to mitigate the impact of extended outages on public health and safety How you participate in emergency drills and exercises to test your plans Your internal and external communications processes How you coordinate restoration and recovery actions with others outside your company Your emergency preparedness plans proved essential when many market participants and the IESO responded to the August 2003 widespread blackout that affected much of northeastern Canada and the U.S. Emergency Planning The Emergency Preparedness Task Force (EPTF), chaired by the IESO, provides overall direction and oversight in co-ordinating Ontario's electricity emergency planning efforts. All market participants are welcome to participate in the EPTF, which includes representatives from government agencies. The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan describes the framework for this collaboration across Ontario's electricity industry. The EPTF works closely with the Ministry of Energy and Emergency Management Ontario to ensure that electricity industry emergency plans support Ontario's Provincial Emergency Plan. In our post- 9/11 world, this includes critical infrastructure protection initiatives such as physical and cyber security, and critical interdependencies with other industry sectors such as telecommunications, oil and natural gas. The EPTF assigns stakeholder-represented working groups to carry out this work. Emergency Response Market participants activate their own emergency plans according to local circumstances. In the event of a large-scale electricity emergency such as occurred during the January 1998 ice-storm and the August 2003 blackout, the Ontario electricity industry's Crisis Management Support Team (CMST) is activated. The Crisis Management Support Team (CMST) provides a forum for key Ontario electricity industry representatives to provide early warnings of events that may have an impact on the reliability of the electricity system. It also helps co-ordinate consequence management. CMST representatives have sufficient management authority to provide strategic information and influence decision-making on behalf of their organizations. The CMST shares information on the status of the situation, identifies issues, and provides guidance for response and recovery strategy, but takes no operational decision-making accountabilities away from participating companies. During emergency incidents, the CMST is an essential source of information to the Ontario Government's Provincial Emergency Operations Centre. The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan (OEEP) gives details on the CMST's structure and responsibilities. The Ontario Power System Restoration Plan The Ontario Power System Restoration Plan (OPSRP) details the technical requirements to expediently restore the IESO-controlled grid after a partial or complete blackout. Market participants who own or operate "restoration-related breakers" as defined by the OPSRP must submit a Restoration Plan Attachment that outlines to the IESO how they will meet their obligations to support the OPSRP. Resources to Assist Market Participants The following documents will help you meet your emergency planning requirements: The Ontario Electricity Emergency Plan (OEEP) includes 8 key planning criteria that must be addressed by market participants in their emergency plans. The IESO Reliability Compliance Program form 1608 is to be submitted annually to the IESO as part of your annual review process. Market Participant Emergency Planning Guidelines This guide is based on the CAN/CSA Z731-95 standard for developing emergency preparedness plans. The Emergency Drills and Exercises Guide is a practical guide to developing and conducting emergency preparedness drills and exercises. It also describes the large-scale emergency restoration exercises conducted since 2001. Further Information For further information please contact emergency.preparedness@ieso.ca. Useful Web Links Ontario Ministry of Energy Emergency Management Ontario Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) US Department of Energy (DoE) North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC)

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