standards of conduct for providing open access ......manitoba hydro 2014 standards of conduct for...

MANITOBA HYDRO

2014

Standards of Conduct for Providing Open Access

Transmission and Interconnection

Service IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES

Effective August 26, 2014

G E N E R A L C O U N S E L & C O R P O R A T E S E C R E T A R Y

S T A N D A R D S O F C O N D U C T F O R P R O V I D I N G O P E N A C C E S S T R A N S M I S S I O N A N D I N T E R C O N N E C T I O N S E R V I C E

2014

I M P L E M E N T A T I O N P R O C E D U R E S

ADMINISTRATIVE UPDATES

Date Update Made By 2016 03 10 > Removed the Major Capital Projects Business Unit.

> Changed Post Acts of Waiver to Not Give Undue Preference under Implementation of the Non-Discrimination Rule and removed information regarding the posting of waivers. > Added a section entitled Requests for Transmission Function Information.

D. Paryniuk

2017 01 06 > Removed hyperlinks to information on the Compliance SharePoint Site to allow for the same version of the Implementation Procedures to be used on the Compliance SharePoint Site and the external Manitoba Hydro website. > Aligned the information in these Implementation Procedures with the revised Standards of Conduct page on the external Manitoba Hydro website.

D. Paryniuk

2017 03 15 > Removed the Customer Care & Energy Conservation Business Unit. > Changed the names of the Business Units from Generation Operations to Generation & Wholesale, from Finance & Regulatory to Finance & Strategy, and from Customer Service & Distribution to Marketing & Customer Service. > Changed the name of the page on the NERC CIP Compliance SharePoint Site from Contractor PRA & Training Resources to the Contractor Records & CIP Resources.

D. Paryniuk

2017 07 28 > Changed Transmission Services Department to Transmission Services & Compliance Department; Compliance SharePoint Site to Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site; Power Sales & Operations Division to Wholesale Power & Operations Division; Energy Operations Planning Department to Energy Operations & Technology Department; Law Division to Legal Services Division; and, Human Resource Services Department to Labour Relations & Human Resource Services Department.

D. Paryniuk

2017 11 22 > Changed Transmission Business Unit to Transmission Operating Group; Generation & Wholesale Business Unit to Generation & Wholesale Operating Group; Marketing & Customer Service Business Unit to Marketing & Customer Service Operating Group; Finance & Strategy Business Unit to Finance & Strategy Corporate Group; General Counsel & Corporate Secretary to General Counsel & Corporate Secretary Corporate Group; Human Resources & Corporate Services Business Unit to Human Resources & Corporate Services Corporate Group; and, Energy Operations & Technology Department to Energy Operations Planning & Technology Department.

D. Paryniuk


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TABLE OF CONTENTS 1) BACKGROUND ................................................................................................................................................................. 5

a) Order No. 888 ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

b) Order No. 889 ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

c) Order No. 717 ........................................................................................................................................................ 5

d) Response to Orders ............................................................................................................................................. 5

2) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT ........................................................................................................................................ 6

a) Corporate Policy ................................................................................................................................................... 6

b) General Principles ............................................................................................................................................... 6

c) Definitions............................................................................................................................................................... 7

d) Affected Employees............................................................................................................................................. 7

i) Transmission Function Employees .............................................................................................................. 7

ii) Marketing Function Employees ..................................................................................................................... 7

iii) Potential Conduit Employees .......................................................................................................................... 7

e) Identification of Affected Employees ........................................................................................................... 7

i) Identification of Transmission Function Employees ............................................................................ 7

ii) Identification of Marketing Function Employees ................................................................................... 8

iii) Identification of Potential Conduit Employees ........................................................................................ 8

f) Roles and Responsibilities ............................................................................................................................... 9

i) Responsibilities of All Employees ................................................................................................................. 9

ii) Responsibilities of Transmission Function Employees ....................................................................... 9

iii) Responsibilities of Marketing Function Employees .............................................................................. 9

iv) Responsibilities of Potential Conduit Employees ................................................................................. 10

v) Responsibilities of the Compliance Officer ............................................................................................. 10

vi) Responsibilities of Senior Management and Supervisory Personnel .......................................... 11

g) Four Basic Rules ................................................................................................................................................. 11

i) Non-Discrimination Rule ................................................................................................................................ 11

ii) Independent Functioning Rule ..................................................................................................................... 11

iii) No Conduit Rule .................................................................................................................................................. 11

iv) Transparency Rule ............................................................................................................................................ 11


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h) Implementation of the Non-Discrimination Rule ................................................................................. 11

i) Enforce Non-Discretionary Tariff Provisions......................................................................................... 12

ii) Apply Discretionary Tariff Provisions Fairly ......................................................................................... 12

iii) Not Give Undue Preference............................................................................................................................ 12

iv) Process Similar Requests Similarly ............................................................................................................ 12

i) Implementation of the Independent Functioning Rule ...................................................................... 12

i) Ensure Separation of Functions ................................................................................................................... 12

ii) Control Access to Physical Premises .......................................................................................................... 12

j) Implementation of the No Conduit Rule ................................................................................................... 13

i) Prohibit Sharing of Transmission Function Information .................................................................. 13

ii) Confirm Nature of the Information and Eligibility of Requestor ................................................... 14

k) Implementation of the Transparency Rule ............................................................................................. 14

i) Control Access to Information ...................................................................................................................... 14

ii) Post Required Information ............................................................................................................................ 15

iii) Exception to Posting Required Information ........................................................................................... 19

iv) Record Communications between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees ......................................................................................................................................... 19

l) Training.................................................................................................................................................................. 20

i) Training Procedure ........................................................................................................................................... 20

ii) Course Description ............................................................................................................................................ 20

iii) Target Audience ................................................................................................................................................. 21

iv) Training Frequency ........................................................................................................................................... 21

v) Training Requirement ..................................................................................................................................... 21

vi) Training Qualification ...................................................................................................................................... 21

vii) Monthly Training Updates ............................................................................................................................. 22

3 REQUESTS FOR TRANSMISSION FUNCTION INFORMATION ................................................................... 22

4 QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS ..................................................................................................................................... 22


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1) BACKGROUND

a) Order No. 888 In 1996, the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order, commonly known as Order 8881, which required that all investor-owned utilities in the United States allow third parties to use their transmission systems to buy and sell energy pursuant to a form of agreement called an open access transmission tariff. The FERC’s objective was to eliminate anti-competitive practices by establishing a non-discriminatory system in which all participants would be required to utilize a standardized agreement.

b) Order No. 889 In 1996, the FERC also issued a companion order, known as Order 8892, which required that United States public utilities adopt a set of rules, called standards of conduct, separating transmission and merchant functions. These rules were intended to foster competition in electricity and gas markets by restricting the ability of an electric transmission or a gas transportation company to grant undue preferences to its own marketing and sales functions, or to those of its affiliates.

c) Order No. 717 In 2008, FERC issued Order 7173 which made substantial amendments to the standards of conduct. The Order clarified and simplified standards of conduct compliance; re-adopted an employee functional approach; eliminated the concept of energy affiliates; more carefully defined transmission function employees and marketing function employees; and, clarified the roles of senior officers, directors, supervisory and shared employees. The Order prohibits the passing of non-public transmission information from a power company’s transmission business unit to those who sell or support the sale of wholesale energy in the same company.

d) Response to Orders Manitoba Hydro determined that it would adopt the form of agreement called an open access transmission tariff and comparable standards of conduct in order to provide reciprocal transmission service and to foster market access for its surplus energy in the United States.

As a result, in 1999, Manitoba Hydro functionally separated the transmission functions and the marketing functions of the corporation into the Transmission and Distribution Business Unit (now known as the Transmission Operating Group) and the Power Supply Business Unit (now known as the Generation & Wholesale Operating Group) respectively, each reporting to its own Vice-President; established its own open access transmission and interconnection tariffs in a form substantially the same as the FERC approved tariff; and, adopted its own standards of conduct.

1 Order No. 888 is entitled Promoting Wholesale Competition through Open Access Non-discriminatory Transmission Services by Public Utilities 2 Order No. 889 is entitled Open Access Same-time Information System and Standards of Conduct 3 Order No. 717 is entitled Standards of Conduct for Transmission Providers


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In 2010 and 2014, Manitoba Hydro issued revisions of its Standards of Conduct for Providing Open Access Transmission and Interconnection Service (Standards of Conduct) to coordinate with Order 717.

The general principles of the Standards of Conduct require that Manitoba Hydro’s employees engaged in transmission system operations, function independently from employee’s engaged in marketing and sales, and that Manitoba Hydro treat all transmission customers on a non-discriminatory basis.

The Standards of Conduct also require that Manitoba Hydro post on its Open Access Same-time Information System (OASIS) or its Internet Website, current written procedures for implementing the Standards of Conduct in such detail as will enable customers to determine that Manitoba Hydro is in compliance with the requirements of the Standards of Conduct.

These Standards of Conduct for Providing Open Access Transmission and Interconnection Service Implementation Procedures (Implementation Procedures) are intended to identify the key processes and procedures necessary to maximize the likelihood of compliance with the Standards of Conduct, as well as, to allow Manitoba Hydro to manage compliance risk.

2) STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

a) Corporate Policy Manitoba Hydro will promote a culture of compliance throughout the organization to ensure that the requirements of Corporate Policy P603: Standards of Conduct for Providing Open Access Transmission and Interconnection Service are satisfied.

The Standards of Conduct will be revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer to reflect changes initiated by either Manitoba Hydro or by the FERC. Any such revisions require the approval of the Executive Committee of Manitoba Hydro. The Corporate Policy references the revised Standards of Conduct for Providing Open Access Transmission and Interconnection Service (Effective August 26, 2014), herein referred to as the Standards of Conduct.

b) General Principles The Standards of Conduct focus on four general principles that govern the interaction and communication between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees, as well as, those that are likely to become privy to Transmission Function Information (information related to the planning, directing, organizing or carrying out of day-to-day transmission operations, including the granting and denying of transmission service requests). These general principles are described in Section 1) General Principles of the Standards of Conduct.

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/pdf/standards_of_conduct.pdf

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/pdf/standards_of_conduct.pdf


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c) Definitions Capitalized terms used in these Implementation Procedures shall have the meanings defined in Section 2) Definitions of the Standards of Conduct.

d) Affected Employees The following employees are referred to as “affected employees” and these employees must adhere to the Standards of Conduct.

i) Transmission Function Employees Employees, contractors, consultants or agents of Manitoba Hydro who actively and personally engage on a day-to-day basis in the planning, directing, organizing or carrying out of day-to-day transmission operations, including the granting and denying of transmission service requests. See Transmission Function Employee in Section 2) Definitions of the Standards of Conduct.

ii) Marketing Function Employees Employees, contractors, consultants or agents of Manitoba Hydro, or of an Affiliate of Manitoba Hydro, who actively and personally engage on a day-to-day basis in the sale for resale, or the submission of offers to sell, of electric energy or capacity, demand response, virtual transactions, or financial or physical transmission rights, all as subject to an exclusion for bundled retail sales, including sales of electric energy made by providers of last resort (“POLR”) acting in their POLR capacity. See Marketing Function Employee in Section 2) Definitions of the Standards of Conduct.

iii) Potential Conduit Employees Employees, contractors, consultants or agents of Manitoba Hydro who are likely to become privy to Transmission Function Information and who are likely to become a conduit of that information to Marketing Function Employees. This includes, but is not limited to, officers, directors, supervisory employees and any other employees identified by the Compliance Officer as potential conduits of Transmission Function Information. Note that there is no definition of Potential Conduit Employee in Section 2) Definitions of the Standards of Conduct. The definition of Potential Conduit Employee has been created by the Compliance Officer to capture other employees affected by the Standards of Conduct.

e) Identification of Affected Employees The following is information regarding the location of affected employees and the process used to identify affected employees.

i) Identification of Transmission Function Employees The rebuttable presumption is that all Manitoba Hydro employees employed within, or contractors, consultants or agents of Manitoba Hydro contracted to, the System Control, the Transmission Services & Compliance, the System Performance, and the System Support Departments of the Transmission System Operations Division and the System Planning Department of the Transmission


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Planning & Design Division in the Transmission Operating Group are Transmission Function Employees.

As required, the Compliance Officer meets with the department managers in the Transmission System Operations Division and in the Transmission Planning & Design Division to discuss the definition of Transmission Function Employee, including any related definitions, and to identify any employees that meet the definition. The Compliance Officer maintains a list of Transmission Function Employees on the Standards of Conduct page of the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site for training and other purposes.

In addition, the Compliance Officer requests the most current job description for each of the employees identified as a Transmission Function Employee and prepares a job summary from the functional responsibility section of the job description for posting on the Internet Website and the Open Access Same-time Information System (OASIS) in accordance with the Standards of Conduct. See Internet Website and Open Access Same-time Information System in Section 2) Definitions of the Standards of Conduct.

ii) Identification of Marketing Function Employees The rebuttable presumption is that all Manitoba Hydro employees employed within, or contractors, consultants or agents contracted to the Export Operations and the Export Power Marketing Departments of the Wholesale Power & Operations Division in the Generation & Wholesale Operating Group are Marketing Function Employees.

As required, the Compliance Officer sends an e-mail to each department manager in the Wholesale Power & Operations Division and requests that they identify any employees that meet the definition of Marketing Function Employee. The Compliance Officer maintains a list of Marketing Function Employees on the Standards of Conduct page of the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site for training purposes.

iii) Identification of Potential Conduit Employees The rebuttable presumption is that all Manitoba Hydro employees employed within, or contractors, consultants or agents contracted to the Transmission, the Generation & Wholesale, and the Marketing & Customer Service Operating Groups, as well as the Finance & Strategy, the General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, the Human Resources & Corporate Services Corporate Groups, who are likely to become privy to Transmission Function Information and who are likely to become a conduit of that information to Marketing Function Employees are Potential Conduit Employees.

As required, the Compliance Officer sends an e-mail to selected department managers in these corporate or operating groups and requests that they identify any Potential Conduit Employees. The Compliance Officer maintains a list of


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Potential Conduit Employees on the Standards of Conduct page of the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site for training purposes.

f) Roles and Responsibilities The following are the roles and responsibilities of those affected by the Standards of Conduct.

i) Responsibilities of All Employees All Manitoba Hydro employees are individually responsible for understanding and complying with the Standards of Conduct. All employees are to follow the established procedures for ensuring compliance with the Standards of Conduct. Employees are to report any suspected violations of the Standards of Conduct to the Compliance Officer and to cooperate fully in any investigations of potential violations.

ii) Responsibilities of Transmission Function Employees In addition to the responsibilities stated under All Employees, Transmission Function Employees must be aware of the information restrictions and the rules regarding the exchange of Transmission Function Information with Marketing Function Employees. Transmission Function Employees are restricted from exchanging transmission

information that Manitoba Hydro is neither willing, nor obliged, to publicly disclose with Marketing Function Employees. Such information is referred to as “non-public” transmission information. More specifically, Transmission Function Employees are prohibited from disclosing Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees.

Transmission Function Employees are not restricted from exchanging transmission information that can be obtained via a public source, such as the OASIS or the Internet Website, with Marketing Function Employees. Such information is referred to as “public” transmission information.

If a Transmission Function Employee, either intentionally or unintentionally, discloses Transmission Function Information to a Marketing Function Employee, the Transmission Function Employee must immediately contact the Compliance Officer and state what Transmission Function Information was disclosed, so that the Compliance Officer can post the information that was disclosed on the Internet Website.

If a Transmission Function Employee intentionally discloses Transmission Function Information to a Marketing Function Employee, the Transmission Function Employee may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Corporate Policy (P594) Discipline.

iii) Responsibilities of Marketing Function Employees In addition to the responsibilities stated under All Employees, Marketing Function Employees shall not gain, or attempt to gain, access by any means to transmission facilities, including computer systems, or Transmission Function Information.


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If a Marketing Function Employee unintentionally gains access to transmission facilities or Transmission Function Information, the Marketing Function Employee will not access the facilities or review the information and will report the incident immediately to the Compliance Officer.

If a Marketing Function Employee intentionally gains access to transmission facilities or Transmission Function Information, the Marketing Function Employee may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Corporate Policy (P594) Discipline.

iv) Responsibilities of Potential Conduit Employees In addition to the responsibilities stated under All Employees, Potential Conduit Employees must be aware of the information restrictions and the rules regarding the disclosure of Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees. Potential Conduit Employees must not disclose Transmission Function Information

to Marketing Function Employees. If a Potential Conduit Employee, either intentionally or unintentionally, discloses

Transmission Function Information to a Marketing Function Employee, the Potential Conduit Employee must immediately contact the Compliance Officer and state what Transmission Function Information was disclosed, so that the Compliance Officer can post the information that was disclosed on the Internet Website.

If a Potential Conduit Employee intentionally discloses Transmission Function Information to a Marketing Function Employee, the Potential Conduit Employee may be subject to disciplinary action in accordance with Corporate Policy (P594) Discipline.

v) Responsibilities of the Compliance Officer The Compliance Officer is responsible for ensuring that affected employees are in compliance with the Standards of Conduct. Such responsibilities include: Working with department managers to identify affected employees. Maintaining lists of affected employees for training and other purposes. Ensuring that all affected employees receive training as required by the Standards of

Conduct. Distributing these Implementation Procedures to all affected employees. Monitoring employee transfers between identified Manitoba Hydro departments to

ensure that appropriate actions are taken for employees that move from being Transmission Function Employees to being Marketing Function Employees and vice versa.

Ensuring proper documentation of Standards of Conduct issues and retaining such documentation for the requisite period of time.

Monitoring and updating informational postings to ensure that data is current, correct and consistent with the Standards of Conduct and these Implementation Procedures.


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Attending joint meetings between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees, as required.

vi) Responsibilities of Senior Management and Supervisory Personnel Manitoba Hydro’s senior management and supervisory personnel are responsible for maintaining the highest level of integrity in all their actions and fostering a culture of compliance.

g) Four Basic Rules The General Principles, also referred to as the Four Basic Rules, are expanded upon in the Standards of Conduct under Section 3) Non-Discrimination Rule, Section 4) Independent Functioning Rule, Section 5) No Conduit Rule and Section 6) Transparency Rule.

i) Non-Discrimination Rule Manitoba Hydro must treat all Transmission Customers, affiliated and non-affiliated, on a not unduly discriminatory basis, and must not make or grant any undue preference or advantage to any person or subject any person to any undue prejudice or disadvantage with respect to any transmission of electric energy or with respect to the wholesale sale of electric energy.

ii) Independent Functioning Rule Manitoba Hydro’s Transmission Function Employees must function independently from its Marketing Function Employees, except as permitted in the Standards of Conduct.

iii) No Conduit Rule Manitoba Hydro and its employees, contractors, consultants and agents are prohibited from disclosing, or using a conduit to disclose, Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees.

iv) Transparency Rule Manitoba Hydro must provide equal access to Transmission Function Information to all its Transmission Customers, affiliated and non-affiliated, except in the case of confidential customer information or critical energy infrastructure information.

h) Implementation of the Non-Discrimination Rule The Non-Discrimination Rule refers to the provisions in the Manitoba Hydro Open Access Transmission Tariff (OATT) and the Manitoba Hydro Open Access Interconnection Tariff (OAIT).

Manitoba Hydro has delegated the responsibility for treating all Transmission Customers, affiliated and non-affiliated, on a not unduly discriminatory basis, and for not making or granting any undue preference or advantage to any person or subjecting any person to any undue prejudice or disadvantage with respect to any Transmission of electric energy or with respect to the wholesale sale of electric


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energy to the Transmission Provider. The rule shall be implemented in accordance with the following:

i) Enforce Non-Discretionary Tariff Provisions The Transmission Provider will strictly enforce all OATT and OAIT provisions relating to the sale or purchase of open access Transmission Service, if the OATT and the OAIT provisions do not permit the use of discretion.

ii) Apply Discretionary Tariff Provisions Fairly The Transmission Provider will apply all OATT and OAIT provisions relating to the sale or purchase of open access Transmission Service in a fair and impartial manner that treats all Transmission Customers in a not unduly discriminatory manner, if the OATT and the OAIT provisions permit the use of discretion.

iii) Not Give Undue Preference The Transmission Provider will not, through its OATT, OAIT or otherwise, give undue preference to any person in matters relating to the sale or purchase of Transmission Service (including, but not limited to, issues of price, curtailment, scheduling, priority, ancillary services, or balancing).

iv) Process Similar Requests Similarly The Transmission Provider will process all similar requests for Transmission Service in the same manner and within the same period of time.

i) Implementation of the Independent Functioning Rule Manitoba Hydro has delegated the responsibility for ensuring that Transmission Function Employees function independently from Marketing Function Employees, except as permitted in the Standards of Conduct, to the Transmission Provider and an Affiliate of Manitoba Hydro with Marketing Function Employees (herein referred to as the “Marketing Affiliate”). The rule shall be implemented in accordance with the following:

i) Ensure Separation of Functions The Transmission Provider will ensure that Transmission Function Employees do not perform any Marketing Function, nor will they perform any work for any Marketing Function Employee, except as permitted by the Standards of Conduct. Similarly, the Marketing Affiliate must ensure that Marketing Function Employees do not perform any Transmission Function.

ii) Control Access to Physical Premises The Transmission Provider will control access to the System Control Centre and the System Control Room for security and Standards of Conduct purposes. The Marketing Affiliate will control access to the Export Operations Department, and thus the trading floor, for security purposes only.

(1) System Control Centre Access to the System Control Centre is controlled by a key fob access system and 24 hour security procedures. Only personnel authorized by the


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Transmission System Operations Division will have key fob access to the System Control Centre. Other persons, including Marketing Function Employees, may have limited supervised access to the System Control Centre, excluding the System Control Room. Such visitors must sign in for access to the System Control Centre with security personnel and must be personally escorted within the System Control Centre by an employee of the Transmission System Operations Division.

(2) System Control Room Access to the System Control Room within the System Control Centre is restricted to System Control Center staff and support staff from other departments within the Transmission Operating Group who are responsible for System Control Centre software, hardware, communications and transmission security studies. Access to the System Control Room is controlled by a key fob access system. Other persons, excluding Marketing Function Employees, may have limited supervised access to the System Control Room. Such visitors will additionally sign in for access to the System Control Room with security personnel and will be personally escorted within the System Control Room by an employee of the Transmission System Operations Division. Every visitor entering the System Control Room will be logged by security personnel. Note: Marketing Function Employees are strictly prohibited from accessing the System Control Room.

(3) Trading Floor Access to the Trading Floor within the Export Operations Department is restricted to Export Operations Department staff and Generation & Wholesale Operating Group personnel authorized by the Export Operations Department Manager. Access to the Export Operations Department is controlled by a key fob access system. Others must contact the supervisory staff within the department to request access and must be supervised while within the department by an employee of the department.

j) Implementation of the No Conduit Rule Manitoba Hydro has delegated the responsibility for ensuring that its employees, contractors, consultants and agents do not disclose, or use a conduit to disclose, Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees to the Transmission Provider. The rule shall be implemented in accordance with the following:

i) Prohibit Sharing of Transmission Function Information Although certain employees may have access to Transmission Function Information, they may never be a “conduit” or pass this Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees. In particular, employees of the Marketing Affiliate, who are not considered Marketing Function Employees, must be diligent not to pass any Transmission Function Information to the Marketing Function Employees. Also, employees who provide a corporate


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service function, for both the Transmission Provider and the Marketing Affiliate, must not pass Transmission Function Information to any Marketing Function Employee. Further, contractors, consultants and agents who provide service to the Transmission Provider and the Marketing Affiliate must not pass Transmission Function Information to Marketing Function Employees.

ii) Confirm Nature of the Information and Eligibility of Requestor Prior to sharing Transmission Function Information with any Manitoba Hydro employee, the employee with the Transmission Function Information must determine whether the requestor is allowed to receive such information under the Standards of Conduct. If the employee with the Transmission Function Information is unsure whether the information is in fact Transmission Function Information or whether the requestor is entitled to receive such information, the employee will consult with his or her supervisor or the Compliance Officer.

k) Implementation of the Transparency Rule Manitoba Hydro has delegated the responsibility for providing equal access to Transmission Function Information to all its Transmission Customers, affiliated and non-affiliated, except in the case of confidential customer information or critical energy infrastructure information, to the Transmission Provider and the Compliance Officer. The rule shall be implemented in accordance with the following:

i) Control Access to Information

(1) Use the Internet Website to Disseminate Information The Transmission Provider and the Compliance Officer will use the Internet Website and/or the OASIS to publicly disseminate to Transmission Customers, including its Marketing Affiliate, information required to be posted pursuant to the Standards of Conduct. All postings will comply with the Standards of Conduct.

(2) Use Appropriate Security Measures for Information Systems Manitoba Hydro’s Information Technology (IT) Department has erected and maintains appropriate password requirements, firewalls, and other security measures for all Transmission Provider’s information systems. The IT Department conducts periodic reviews of passwords, firewalls, and other security measures to ensure that the integrity of the information systems is maintained.

(3) Ensure Proper Restrictions to Information Systems The Transmission Provider and the Marketing Affiliate share the Energy Management System (EMS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System. Both systems contain Transmission Function Information and have proper restrictions in place to comply with the Standards of Conduct.


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The EMS and the SCADA System provide for Control Area responsibilities and control over transmission and generation facility operations and data acquisition from substations. Access to real-time data from the EMS and the SCADA System is confined to computer systems within the System Control Centre and a back-up control facility. Applications that use Transmission Function Information not available on the OASIS or the Internet Website are not accessible to Marketing Function Employees.

The System Control Department of the Transmission Provider operates generation to meet the reservoir plans developed by the Energy Operations Planning & Technology Department of the Marketing Affiliate. Energy Operations Planning & Technology Department personnel and Hydraulic Operations Department personnel require non-transmission related hydraulic and plant output information from the EMS to assess operations. Data base controls, in the form of user identification requirements, ensure that Marketing Function Employees do not retrieve Transmission Function Information from the EMS.

ii) Post Required Information Certain information identified in the Standards of Conduct must be posted on the Internet Website. This required information is organized under the headings of Standards of Conduct, Implementation Procedures, Marketing Affiliates, Employee-Staffed Facilities, Potential Merger Partners, Job Titles and Job Descriptions, Notices and Contact Us. Below is a description of what information is required to be posted; however, the actual information posted can found on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website.

The Compliance Officer is responsible for posting the required information on the Internet Website and for ensuring that it remains current. When information is updated or a posting expires, the Compliance Officer sends an e-mail to [email protected] requesting that the information be removed or replaced and stores the information that was removed or replaced under Archives on the internal Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site.

(1) Standards of Conduct The current Standards of Conduct are posted under Standards of Conduct on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The Standards of Conduct are revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer and a representative from the Legal Services Division. Any revisions to the Standards of Conduct must be approved by the Executive Committee of Manitoba Hydro.

(2) Implementation Procedures The current written procedures implementing the Standards of Conduct are posted under Implementation Procedures on the Standards of Conduct page

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/index.shtml

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/index.shtml

mailto:[email protected]


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on the Internet Website. The Implementation Procedures are revised or updated, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

(3) Marketing Affiliates Information regarding the Transmission Provider’s affiliates is posted under the heading of Marketing Affiliates on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The Marketing Affiliate information is revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

(4) Employee-Staffed Facilities Information regarding the Transmission Provider’s facilities shared by Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees is posted under the heading of Employee-Staffed Facilities on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The Employee-Staffed Facilities information is revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

(5) Potential Merger Partners Information regarding the Transmission Provider’s potential merger partners is posted under the heading of Potential Merger Partners on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The Potential Merger Partners information is revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

(6) Job Titles and Job Descriptions The job titles and job descriptions of Transmission Function Employees are posted under Job Titles and Job Descriptions on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The Job Titles and Job Descriptions are revised, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

A job summary, rather than a job description, is posted for each Transmission Function Employee. The job summary is the functional responsibility section of the most current job description available. The Compliance Officer requests the most current job description for each Transmission Function Employee from the respective manager and/or Human Resource Advisor and prepares the job summary. The job summaries are then compiled for the Transmission System Operations Division and the Transmission Planning & Design Division. The job summaries are posted as Transmission System Operations Job Summaries and Transmission Planning & Design Job Summaries under Job Titles and Job Descriptions on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website.

The Compliance Officer follows the procedures entitled Posting Revised Job Summaries to make revisions and post changes as required by the Standards of Conduct.

(7) Notices The notices identified in the Standards of Conduct are Contemporaneous Disclosures, Voluntary Consents, Employee Transfers, Emergency Events and


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Waivers. Below is a description of the information that is required to be posted. The actual notices posted are under Notices on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website. The notices are posted, as required, by the Compliance Officer.

(a) Contemporaneous Disclosures Certain information regarding the Transmission Provider’s contemporaneous disclosures will be posted. The required information is organized under the headings of Disclosure of Transmission Function Information and Disclosure of Transmission Customer Information.

(i) Disclosure of Transmission Function Information In the event that Transmission Function Information is disclosed, a notice stating the information that was disclosed will be posted immediately under Notices.

(ii) Disclosure of Transmission Customer Information In the event that non-public Transmission Customer information or critical energy infrastructure information is disclosed, a notice stating that the information was disclosed will be posted immediately under Notices.

(b) Voluntary Consent In the event that a Transmission Customer voluntarily consents, in writing, to allow the Transmission Provider to disclose its non-public information to Marketing Function Employees, a notice of the consent, along with a statement that the Transmission Provider did not provide any preferences, either operational or rate-related, in exchange for the consent, will be posted under Notices.

(c) Employee Transfers In the event that a Transmission Function Employee transfers to a position as a Marketing Function Employee, or Marketing Function Employee transfers to a position as Transmission Function Employee, a notice of the employee transfer will be posted under Notices and will remain on the Internet website for 90 days. No such employee transfer will be used as a means to circumvent any provision of the Standards of Conduct. The notice will include the following information: name of the transferring employee; respective titles held while performing each function (that is, as a

Transmission Function Employee and as a Marketing Function Employee); and,

effective date of the transfer.

The Human Resource Analyst in the Labour Relations & Human Resource Services Department, in consultation with the Compliance Officer, has developed the instructions entitled Employee Transfer Notification

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/your_business/standards/


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Instructions. These instructions document the process that is used to identify employees that transfer between the Transmission Function and the Marketing Function.

Each week, the Human Resource Analyst sends an e-mail to the Compliance Officer stating whether or not an employee transfer has occurred between the departments identified in the Transmission Operating Group and the departments identified in the Generation & Wholesale Operating Group. If an employee transfer has occurred, a notice that includes the required information will be posted under Notices.

(d) Emergency Events In the event an emergency, such as an earthquake, flood, fire, hurricane or a cyber-security incident, severely disrupts Manitoba Hydro’s normal business operations, the Compliance Officer can suspend the posting requirements of the Standards of Conduct. The requirement to notify the Compliance Officer of an emergency event is detailed in the normal operating procedure NOP 1682-01 Communication of Transmission Information (Standards of Conduct) in the System Control Department.

During an emergency in which the Transmission Provider needs to maintain or restore operations of the system or needs to comply with approved reliability standards, the Transmission Provider may take whatever steps are necessary to keep the system in operation, including exchanging Transmission Function Information with Marketing Function Employees. A notice that Transmission Function Information was exchanged and the reason that the information was exchanged will be posted under Notices, as soon as practicable after the fact.

(e) Waivers In the event that the Transmission Provider waives an OATT or an OAIT provision in favour of an Affiliate, a notice of such waiver of a tariff provision will be posted under Notices. The notice will be posted within one (1) business day of the act of waiver and a log of the acts of waiver will be maintained. The records will be kept for a period of five (5) years from the date of each act of waiver.

(8) Contact Us Manitoba Hydro has designated a Compliance Officer to be responsible for Standards of Conduct compliance. The Compliance Officer’s contact information is posted under Contact Us on the Standards of Conduct page on the Internet Website.


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iii) Exception to Posting Required Information

(1) Specific Transaction Information The Transmission Provider is not required to contemporaneously disclose information that relates solely to a Marketing Affiliate’s specific request for Transmission Service, including discussions with respect to the Marketing Affiliate’s participation in capacity expansion or new development projects. This exception does not apply to outages or other system conditions.

iv) Record Communications between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees For conversations and meetings between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees, a contemporaneous record will be made and retained as required by the Standards of Conduct. The procedures and the forms for making contemporaneous records can be found under Forms in the left-hand column of the Standards of Conduct page on the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site. In an emergency, when a contemporaneous record cannot be made, the record will be made as soon as practicable after the fact.

(1) Conversations and Meetings Permitted Under the Standards of Conduct The Standards of Conduct permit conversations and meetings between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees that focus on issues relevant to both, provided that Transmission Function Information is not disclosed during the conversation or the meeting. If it is unclear whether a topic is permissible for either a conversation or a meeting, the Transmission Function Employee should seek clarification from the Compliance Officer or the Legal Services Division.

(2) Conversations and Meetings Permitted Under the Exclusions to the Standards of Conduct The Exclusions to the Standards of Conduct permit conversations and meetings between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees that are held to discuss the following information, including Transmission Function Information: information pertaining to compliance with reliability standards applicable to

Manitoba Hydro; and, information necessary to maintain or restore operation of the transmission

system or generating units, or that may affect the dispatch of generating units.

(3) Joint Conversation Records A Joint Conversation Record form will be completed for conversations between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees (Joint Conversations). Transmission Function Employees will follow the procedures entitled Joint Conversation Procedures and will complete the form entitled Joint Conversation Record Form and submit it to the Compliance Officer, as per the form. The Compliance Officer will post the


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completed form on the internal Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site and retain the Joint Conversation Record for a period of five (5) years.

(4) Joint Meeting Records A Joint Meeting Record form will be completed for all meetings between Transmission Function Employees and Marketing Function Employees (Joint Meetings). The Compliance Officer will be invited to all Joint Meetings.

If the Compliance Officer is available to attend the Joint Meeting, she will read the Joint Meeting Statement and complete the Joint Meeting Record form. Following the meeting, she will post the completed form on the internal Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site and retain the record for a period of five (5) years.

If the Compliance Officer is not available to attend the Joint Meeting, the organizer of the Joint Meeting will follow the procedures entitled Joint Meeting Procedures and will complete the form entitled Joint Meeting Record Form and submit it to the Compliance Officer, as per the form. The Compliance Officer will post the completed form on the internal Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site and retain the record for a period of five (5) years.

(5) Review of Phone Logs Telephone conversations between the System Control Room and the Trading Floor are recorded. The Compliance Officer will follow the procedures entitled Review of Phone Logs and will maintain a record of the telephone conversations that are reviewed.

l) Training A computer-based training (CBT) course has been developed to provide Manitoba Hydro employees with an understanding of the requirements of the Standards of Conduct. There is no charge to take the course and it takes about 30 minutes to complete the course. A minimum of 80% on the post test is required in order to successfully complete the course.

i) Training Procedure The Standards of Conduct training course can be accessed from the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site. The current version of the Standards of Conduct CBT is under Announcements on the Standards of Conduct page.

ii) Course Description The Standards of Conduct CBT course is intended to provide Manitoba Hydro employees as well as contractors, consultants and agents of Manitoba Hydro with a firm understanding of the basics of the Standards of Conduct. The course will also provide employees with information on when to seek advice when confronted with a Standards of Conduct issue and who to contact for assistance in dealing with the issue. The topics covered in the course include:


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Background and principles of the Standards of Conduct Who in Manitoba Hydro is affected by the Standards of Conduct How the Standards of Conduct apply to affected employees What the consequences are for violation of the Standards of Conduct Where to find more information about the Standards of Conduct

iii) Target Audience Affected employees, contractors, consultants, agents of Manitoba Hydro and other employees will receive training on the Standards of Conduct.

(1) Affected Employees Affected employees and newly hired affected employees will receive a copy of these Implementation Procedures and will receive training on the Standards of Conduct.

(2) Contractors, Consultants and Agents Contractors, consultants and agents of Manitoba Hydro, herein referred to as contractors, will receive training regarding the Standards of Conduct when Transmission Function Information is accessed, or could be accessed, by virtue of the location of the work, the systems being worked on, or the work being performed. Contractors that access, or could access, Transmission Function Information will not disclose such information to Marketing Function Employees. Contractors will follow the instructions for accessing the Standards of Conduct training on the Contractor Records & CIP Resources page of the NERC CIP Compliance SharePoint Site.

(3) Other Employees All other Manitoba Hydro employees are encouraged to take the Standards of Conduct training.

iv) Training Frequency Affected Employees must successfully complete the Standards of Conduct CBT course every year. Newly hired Affected Employees will receive the training within 30 days of commencing employment and every year thereafter.

v) Training Requirement The requirement to take the Standards of Conduct CBT course every year will be added to the position numbers of affected employees. An automated Standards of Conduct Expiry Notification will be sent to the employee in the position one (1) month prior to the employee’s training expiry date. The employee will be asked to complete the training by the end of the month in which their training expires.

vi) Training Qualification Employees who have successfully completed the Standards of Conduct CBT course will have their Training History updated to reflect the date on which the


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training was completed and will have the training added as a Qualification in their employee profile.

vii) Monthly Training Updates The Compliance Officer generates a Standards of Conduct Training Update for each department manager with affected employees on the first working day after the end of each month. The training update includes a Compliance Detail Report for the department, the names of the employees that are required to complete the training within the next month and a link to the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint Site. Department managers are advised that the Standards of Conduct CBT is available under Announcements on the Standards of Conduct page of the Ethics & Compliance SharePoint site.

3 REQUESTS FOR TRANSMISSION FUNCTION INFORMATION All requests for Transmission Function Information shall be referred to: Tariff Administration and Rates Engineer Transmission Services & Compliance Department Manitoba Hydro – 453 Manitoba Hydro 360 Portage Avenue Winnipeg, MB R3C 0G8 or [email protected]

4 QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS Employees should direct any questions and report any concerns to the Compliance Officer at 204-360-3072 or [email protected]. * Available in accessible formats upon request.



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