The Market Surveillance Panel in Ontario's electricity market : monitoring, investigating and reporting : backgrounder

The Market Surveillance Panel (MSP) is an independent body appointed by and accountable to the Independent Directors of Ontario's Independent Electricity Market Operator (IMO). The MSP is fundamental to the development of competitive electricity markets because it is instrumental in monitoring the activities of the Ontario electricity market open to competition as of May 2002. The role of the MSP is to monitor, investigate and report on the behaviour of markets that are administered by the IMO. It is instrumental in promoting the benefits of competition to Ontario energy users. While the MSP is not a regulator, it is empowered to make recommendations to the IMO, the Ontario Energy Board and the Competition Bureau. The role of the MSP is to identify, understand and explain market outcomes that are anomalous, with particular focus on real-time energy price movements and market outcomes, gaming and the exercise of local market power. The report notes that energy prices are expected to fluctuate more in a competitive market than in a regulated market, and that price movements are actually healthy. However, the role of the MSP is to assess energy prices by asking important questions regarding the signaling role of prices, and to ensure that the changes in prices are not a result of abuse of market power. The MSP will also focus on the impediments to effective competition and on recommending actions to mitigate them. 5 refs