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How the program works

Proposal Submission and Review

A Proposal submitted to the IESO under the ACEP Program will be given a Time Stamp to acknowledge receipt of that Proposal. Within 15 Business Days of the receipt of the Proposal, the IESO will assess whether the Proposal is complete and eligible and has met the overall objectives of ACEP.

Once the IESO has determined that the Proposal is complete because the Proponent has met the eligibility requirements and contains all the required components as well as sufficient detail and supporting documentation to warrant moving it forward for evaluation, the IESO will then provide the Proponent with notice that the Proposal has been accepted and that Proposal has been given a Validated Time Stamp. The Proposal will then move forward for evaluation.

The IESO may, at any time, ask for and contact references or other third parties about a Proponent or Joint Proponent as part of the OPA’s due diligence into assessing a Proposal or compliance with the Program Rules or Funding Agreement.

All Proposals with a Validated Time Stamp will be reviewed and evaluated. A Community Energy Plan developed or updated under ACEP must contain the following components, at a minimum:

Community Baseline Study: a benchmark of the Community’s current energy performance.

Current and Future Needs: an assessment of the Community’s current and future forecasted energy needs and identification of any anticipated shortfalls or challenges that may arise in meeting those needs.

Priorities and Opportunities: a determination of the Community’s priorities related to energy use and generation.

Implementation Plan: identification of actionable ways to meet energy needs and achieve goals with a clearly defined implementation plan.

If the Proposal has addressed the how the components as noted above will be undertaken, it will then be evaluated further for eligibility in accordance to the mandatory requirements as set out in the Rules. If applying for funding to update an existing Community Energy Plan, additional mandatory requirements are required for evaluation.

Evaluation considerations have been identified in the Rules to guide Proponents on how the mandatory requirements will be evaluated. This list is a guide only. This list does not preclude further evaluation of the Proposal as a whole and of additional documentation provided to support each required component.

Proposal Templates are also available to help organize and complete the requirements of a Proposal. They will serve as a guide for what to include as part of a Proposal. The level of clarity and organization of the Proposal will also be factored into the evaluation. Proposal Templates are available on the ACEP Website.

After the review process is complete, Proponents will be notified and if successful, will be offered to enter into a Funding Agreement with the OPA.

Please see the ACEP Program Rules for more details about the mandatory Proposal components, review and selection process.