Market Surveillance Panel Releases Electricity Market Monitoring Report

The Market Surveillance Panel has submitted to the Ontario Energy Board the monitoring report on Ontario's wholesale electricity market for the period between November 2004 and April 2005, a report that exonnerates market participants of any "inappropriate behaviour".

This is the Market Surveillance Panel's first report as a panel of the OEB and the sixth monitoring report since the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)-administered markets opened in 2002.

The Panel's review states "We are satisfied that the IESO-administered markets continued to function well over the six-month period spanning the winter and early spring 2005. While prices were on average more than 11 percent higher than the comparable period in 2003-2004 we attribute this largely to higher fuel costs and a significant level of generator outages, particularly in April 2005." As well, the Panel found "...no evidence of inappropriate behaviour by market participants."

The Market Surveillance Panel is appointed by the Ontario Energy Board.

The mandate of the three-member Panel is to monitor, and where appropriate, investigate the activities and conduct of participants in the markets that the IESO administers and make any recommendations it feels are appropriate.

The Panel's report can also serve as a detailed source of information on the operation of the market during the review period. The report is on the OEB Web site.