We take pride in having a mandate like no other: working at the heart of Ontario’s electricity system, ensuring reliability, affordability, and sustainability for homes, businesses, and communities. Our values drive our culture: we foster an environment where your ideas count, practicing expertise with humility and purposeful engagement. The IESO’s central role gives our team the opportunity to make large-scale impact every day and tackle challenges directly affecting the lives of everyone in Ontario. This responsibility energizes us to pursue excellence in everything we do, turning our mission into work that drives us forward.
Energized to Grow
The energy sector is rapidly evolving, offering exciting new opportunities for those who want to make a difference. At the IESO, we turn sector growth into diverse career possibilities, enabling our team members to work on innovative future-forward projects. We’re helping you unleash your potential with learning and development opportunities, a flexible work environment, community-giving and volunteer programs, and comprehensive total rewards to help you live the life you want. As part of our holistic approach, you can hone your skills, explore new career paths, and contribute to a sector that’s shaping Ontario’s future.
Powered by Teamwork
Managing a reliable and cost-effective electricity system requires a team of experts from different backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives and skills. We thrive on collaboration and teamwork, working together with mutual respect. Our commitment to work-life flexibility and a strong, values-driven culture ensures that we aren’t just colleagues, but a community united by a shared passion for what we do. By bringing together different experiences and ways of thinking, we strengthen our ability to tackle challenges, innovate, and succeed- because the power of teamwork lies in the unique strengths each of us contributes.
Genuine Caring – We create an environment of fairness, trust, respect and belonging
“For me, genuine caring is the mark of authentic leadership, and it’s likely the most important value that I try to model every single day. It builds long-lasting trust, true engagement and a feeling of “having a family” at work. As such, coaching, mentoring and supporting personal growth can become seamless and natural day-to-day activities, not to mention the positive vibe that one can feel just by walking around the office.”
Sorana Ionescu, MBA, Director, Smart Metering, Information & Technology Services
Expertise with Humility – We value diverse experiences and perspectives
“It’s really amazing to work at an organization where so many people are experts in their field, but remain humble and are willing to go out of their way to help others without even being asked. At the IESO, the depth of expertise in every function means that conversations among colleagues feature different viewpoints, making it easier to understand the same issue from multiple perspectives and to see how what we do ultimately benefits everyone else in the province.”
Dalia Hussein, P.Eng., PhD, Manager, Operations Integration
Collaboration and Teamwork – We believe in the power of working together
“Teamwork and collaboration permeate most IESO initiatives, whether bringing together the diverse expertise of internal teams to support project goals, or taking the perspectives and needs of stakeholders into account. In Legal, I have the pleasure of working on numerous multidisciplinary teams to support various initiatives and it’s always a supportive environment where open discussion is encouraged, everyone’s views are respected and considered, and we all learn from each other.”
Aaron Kucharczuk, M.Sc., JD, Senior Legal Counsel, Corporate/Commercial Law Group
Commitment and Accountability – We take our mandate and responsibilities seriously and hold ourselves accountable
“Ensuring the province has access to reliable electricity when and where it is needed means being accountable for the comprehensive planning and analysis that will lay the groundwork for a strong energy future for decades to come. In planning for the system, we are committed to engaging and working together with stakeholders and communities to take a holistic view of all perspectives in an environment that is continually evolving.”
Bonnie Chan, P.Eng., Manager, Planning Assessments
Purposeful Engagement – We are thoughtful about who we engage with and how
“Engaging with industry stakeholders and Ontario communities is a core business driver at the IESO. Faced with tremendous change over the past few years, we found new and innovative ways to remain engaged with the growing diversity of sector participants. Amid this evolution, I remain optimistic about the IESO's ability to maintain strong stakeholder and community relations and use the important input from those participants to make informed and balanced decisions.”
Jason Grbavac, Senior Advisor, Stakeholder and Customer Engagement
Openness to Change – We have the courage to challenge the status quo and the curiosity to try new things
“We are at the precipice of the most significant transition in the electricity sector – ever. Between preparing to meet future decarbonization targets, electrification of heating, transportation and industrial processes, and enabling resources, Ontario’s electricity sector is evolving at an unprecedented rate. Openness to change and mustering the courage to challenge the status quo must be the status quo.”
Elyas Ahmed, Senior Engineer, Advanced Technology, Transmission Planning Projects
Market and Operations
Keeping the lights on is at the heart of what we do, by, managing real-time operations that support the electricity grid, balancing supply and demand every minute of every day, dispatching resources scheduled through the markets, and coordinating outages to protect system reliability. We look at the wholesale markets over the longer term, integrating new and emerging technologies, and making high-value enhancements through market design.
System Planning and Forecasting
Our roles in planning and forecasting enable us to assess the province’s short-, medium- and long-term electricity needs, on a regular and transparent basis, and share this information to inform electricity sector decisions and investments. Engaging with stakeholders, communities, and government, we help ensure Ontario’s grid is reliable, resilient, and cost effective – preparing for the future while expecting the unexpected.
Market Oversight
An efficient and compliant electricity market and power grid is our goal. We provide market participants (e.g., generators and transmitters) with guidance on market rules and North American reliability standards. By investigating potential breaches, imposing sanctions, and monitoring payment recoveries, we enhance the credibility, competitiveness, and reliability of our electricity market, bringing value to Ontario’s electricity consumers.