Topic:"Financial Instruments" in M12412

13 4. Provincial Funding - 14 In March 2025, the Province provided the NSIESO with a grant of $2.68M to fund the NSIESO to - 15 transition its functions from the NSPI before such time as it has secured necessary funding from - 16 rates . T...

AI summary In March 2025, the Province granted the NSIESO $2.68M to assist with transitioning its functions from NSPI. The funds are being used for one-time transition costs, including organizational setup and governance. A surplus of $1.44M is expected after covering these costs, which may be applied to ongoing OM&A expenses.

17 Table 6: FTE Positions under the Administration Salaries and Wages Cost Category Positions Description IT and Cybersecurity Specialist This role is responsible for the maintenance, configuration, and reliable operation of the NSIESO's c...

AI summary This section outlines two FTE positions under the Administration Salaries and Wages Cost Category: an IT and Cybersecurity Specialist responsible for maintaining and securing the NSIESO's systems, and a Financial Analyst tasked with analyzing financial data to support financial decisions.

- a. Directors Errors and Omissions Insurance: These costs are estimated for a $7 million per-claim E&O policy, based on benchmarking with other independent public agencies of a similar size in Nova Scotia. Premium quotes are expected to b...

AI summary The text outlines various insurance and administrative costs for the NSIESO, including errors and omissions, general liability, property, and cybersecurity insurance, as well as communication and stakeholder engagement plans. Premiums and cost estimates are based on benchmarking and industry standards.

5 1. Table 15: Summary of One-Time Transition Cost Categories One-Time Transition Costs Category Ongoing O&M Costs ($) HR Transition Planning, Change Management 0.31M Program and Project Management, and Financial Advisory 0.41M Accounting...

AI summary Table 15 outlines various one-time transition cost categories and their associated ongoing O&M costs, including HR transition planning, program management, accounting setup, and office technology. Total one-time transition costs are listed as $1.23M, with provincial funding amounting to $2.68M and a surplus of $1.44M.

Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator Financial Forecast

AI summary The document introduces the Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator and outlines a section titled 'Financial Forecast,' suggesting the discussion of financial planning and projections related to the energy system operator.

1 Request IR - 5 - 2 Reference: Exhibit A-1 (page 8 of 36, lines 14-16)… "In March 2025, the Province provided the - 3 NSIESO with a grant of $2.68M to fund the NSIESO to transition its functions from the NSPI - 4 before such time it has s...

AI summary The document requests a copy of the funding agreement between the NSIESO and the Province of Nova Scotia for a grant of $2.68M provided in March 2025 to support the NSIESO's transition from NSPI before securing necessary funding from rates.

7 Response IR - 5 - 8 a) The Province and the NSIESO entered into two Contribution Agreements, copies of - 9 which are attached. The first agreement was dated March 10th, 2025, providing - 10 $2,500,000 to support the IESO for costs associ...

AI summary The Province and the NSIESO have entered into two Contribution Agreements, dated March 10th and 21st, 2025, providing financial support for the IESO's transition and startup phase, as well as for transitioning work in progress and technical advisory services.

Request IR - 12 - Reference: Exhibit B-2 (page 22 of 36, lines 3-6)… "Directors Errors and Omissions Insurance: - These costs are estimated for a $7 million per-claim E&O policy, based on benchmarking with - other independent public agenci...

AI summary The document requests benchmarking data for Directors Errors and Omissions Insurance, citing a forecast of $0.03 million based on comparisons with other independent public agencies in Nova Scotia. The insurance is estimated for a $7 million per-claim policy, with premium quotes expected in August 2025.

Request IR - 30 - Reference: Exhibit B-2 (page 28 of 36, line 1, Table 14 & lines 6-8)…"The NSIESO will address - the Net OM&A Deferral and Variance Account for the 2025/2026 test year and will seek a - revenue requirement and a recovery m...

AI summary The NSIESO is seeking a revenue requirement and recovery mechanism for 2026 to 2027 to repay a line of credit, which was funded through rates. The request includes questions about the supporting calculations for a $0.10 million financing cost forecast and the structure and terms of the line of credit.

- 4 Figure 1 Summary of findings, observations and conclusions # Section title Findings, observations, and conclusions • We have reviewed the supporting financial model provided by the NSIESO for mathematical accuracy and internal consiste...

AI summary The NSIESO's financial model was reviewed for mathematical accuracy and found to be error-free. However, the model's hardcoded inputs lacked supporting documentation, raising concerns about their accuracy. The recommendation is for future filings to include supporting evidence for all significant assumptions.

- Figure 4 Ontario IESO expenses ($000s)[2](#page-13-0) 4 Expenses - core operations (000s) 2024 2023 Compensation and benefits 170,153 166,189 Professional and consulting 19,996 18,712 Operating and administration 47,946 41,714 Amortizati...

AI summary The text presents a table of Ontario IESO expenses for core operations in 2024 and 2023, including categories such as compensation, professional services, operating costs, amortization, interest, and foreign exchange loss. A summary of these expenses on a percentage basis is also mentioned.

- 10 Salaries and benefits 48% of total expenses; - 11 Outside services 15% of total expenses; and, - 12 FERC assessment expenses 15% of total expenses. 3 Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. - Midcontinent Independent System Oper...

AI summary The text outlines the distribution of expenses, with salaries and benefits accounting for 48%, outside services for 15%, and FERC assessment expenses for 15%. A reference is made to the financial statements of Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. for 2024 and 2023.

14 4.3.2.8.3 Other capacity contract opportunities - 15 Per the Application, these costs are to develop a capacity contract to procure additional fast acting generation. The - 16 NSIESO is currently investigating an opportunity to enter in...

AI summary The Application proposes developing a capacity contract to procure a 100MW SCCT with a commercial operations date of Fall 2028. The NSIESO is investigating this opportunity, with a budget including legal, credit, technical support, and contingency costs.

24 Figure 25 – NSIESO administration salaries and wages assumptions Compensation component NSIESO assumption Further benchmarking detail provided by the NSIESO upon inquiry The $400,000 annual salary assumed for the NSIESO CEO role was det...

AI summary The document outlines the NSIESO's assumption for the CEO's annual salary, setting it at the 50th percentile target of $400,000. Additional benchmarking details are available upon inquiry.

[25] The current application requests approval of the Net Ongoing OM&A costs, after accounting for the provincial funding of $2.68 million (i.e., $1.23 million applied to one-time transition costs and $1.44 million applied to initial OM&A...

AI summary The IESO seeks approval for a Net OM&A Deferral and Variance Account, deferring rate recovery until a future application. Doane Grant Thornton found the budget's cost categories reasonable but noted a lack of formal support for assumptions, recommending stronger filing requirements. The IESO acknowledges these concerns and notes ongoing efforts to implement financial controls.

21 1 2025 M12412 20 (b) Which "business units" are expected to be transferred directly from NSPI? 1 2 (c) To date, what coordination has taken place with NSPI in relation to this transfer of business, and specifically, how often are member...

AI summary The document outlines a series of questions regarding the transfer of business units from NSPI to the NSIESO, including coordination efforts, overlapping costs, and cost estimation. It also mentions the use of public funding to cover transition costs and ongoing operations.

- 7 (b) How does the NSIESO account for the fact that these costs are already 8 embedded in existing rates, without requiring ratepayers to pay twice (i.e., 9 in existing rates and as part of the NSIESO costs)? - 10 (c) Has the NSIESO vali...

AI summary The text presents a series of questions and requests related to the NSIESO's accounting for embedded costs, employee transition validation, and updates on procurement progress and interest expenses. It focuses on financial and operational considerations within a regulatory proceeding.

Non-Confidential To: The Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator ("NSIESO") 4. Reference: Exhibit B-1 (page 13 of 36, lines 1-4) "the NSIESO prepared its forecast using a bottom-up approach. The forecasting was informed by informati...

AI summary The document contains two requests directed at the NSIESO. The first asks for details on a bottom-up forecasting methodology and the associated organizational workplan. The second requests a copy of a funding agreement for a grant received by the NSIESO in March 2025.

Doane Grant Thornton ("DGT") IRs IR Confidentiality Status Justification DGT IR – 1 Partially Confidential (attachment only) Information: A Third Party Proprietary portion of the "OM&A Detail" attachment outlining the underlying financial...

AI summary This document outlines the confidentiality justification for a partially confidential information request (IR) submitted by Doane Grant Thornton (DGT). The request includes a third-party proprietary portion of an OM&A Detail attachment, which contains sensitive financial information related to land acquisitions and a capacity contract with IESO Nova Scotia. The information is considered commercially sensitive and could prejudice the competitive positions of IESO Nova Scotia and other vendors.

[25] The current application requests approval of the Net Ongoing OM&A costs, after accounting for the provincial funding of $2.68 million (i.e., $1.23 million applied to one-time transition costs and $1.44 million applied to initial OM&A...

AI summary The IESO seeks approval of a Net OM&A Deferral and Variance Account, deferring rate recovery until a future application. Doane Grant Thornton found the financial model mathematically sound but criticized the lack of formal evidence for budget assumptions, recommending stronger filing requirements. The IESO acknowledges these concerns and notes ongoing efforts to implement financial controls.