How to read GridLens

Glossary & methodology

How public connection-project and infrastructure data becomes a careful screening record—and what the terms mean before you use the map or numbers.

InputsPublic source data

Project geographyPlanning area

Intended useEarly-stage screening

Methodology

A disciplined screening workflow

GridLens turns selected public information into a clearer view of connection activity and mapped infrastructure while preserving the limits of each underlying source.

01
Collect
GridLens brings together selected public AESO electricity data, AER pipeline mapping and Government of Alberta geography relevant to early site screening.
02
Organize
Connection Project Lists are preserved as versioned records. Infrastructure sources, including the pipeline map, are organized as current reference layers rather than network or capacity models.
03
Compare
Successive Connection Project List publications are compared to surface meaningful project changes. The pipeline layer is current context and does not represent pipeline history.
04
Present carefully
Results are presented as screening signals with clear limits. GridLens avoids adding geographic precision or certainty that the public record does not support.

Site Screen

Infrastructure proximity screening from a coordinate

Site Screen is a concise, free view of what mapped infrastructure generally surrounds a selected Alberta coordinate and what Connection Project List activity exists in its AESO planning area.

Spatial location context

Municipality and AESO planning area are derived from the selected coordinate using mapped boundaries, rather than inferred from a nearby substation.

Geospatial proximity

Distances to substations, transmission lines and selected AER natural-gas pipeline segments are calculated geospatially and presented as screening context.

Planning-area queue context

Project count, DTS MW and STS MW describe the selected coordinate's planning area. They are not attributed to the site, a county or a nearby substation.

Pipeline presence is not gas availability. Site Screen does not estimate available electrical capacity and does not produce an interconnection-feasibility or gas-deliverability conclusion.

Source register

What feeds GridLens

GridLens relies on public information from Alberta's electricity-system operator, energy regulator and provincial geographic sources.

AESO Connection Project List

The primary public source for connection-project reporting and related project attributes.

Connection Project Reporting

AESO grid and geographic data

Public mapping and reference data used to provide planning-area and transmission-infrastructure context.

AESO maps and data portals

AER Enhanced Pipeline Graphics File

Public pipeline mapping used for the map's current natural-gas context. GridLens selects mapped segments containing Natural Gas or Sour Natural Gas whose source status is Operating or Permitted.

AER pipeline data

Government of Alberta geographic data

Public municipal geography used to add county and regional context where appropriate.

GeoDiscover Alberta

Interpretation limits

What the data cannot establish

These boundaries are part of the methodology, not fine print. They prevent reported figures from being presented with more certainty or geographic precision than the source allows.

Not available capacity

DTS and STS values are published changes to requested contract capacity. They are not spare transmission capacity, metered demand, generator capability, or guaranteed service.

Not a project-success forecast

Being listed, moving to a later stage, or carrying an in-service date does not establish that a project will proceed on that schedule—or proceed at all.

Planning-area precision only

The public project record identifies a planning area, not a reliable county or specific-substation connection.

No county queue-MW totals

GridLens does not show county queue-MW totals because the public project record does not support that attribution reliably.

Publication-dependent history

History reflects the public updates collected by GridLens. It is not a continuous, real-time record of project activity.

Generation capability is directional

The capability layer is a separate generation-only screening source. It is not load capability, a capacity guarantee, or a substitute for an engineering assessment.

Pipeline presence is not gas service

A mapped pipeline does not establish available transport capacity, delivery pressure, a feasible tie-in, commercial access, utility service, or the right to connect. Diameter and proximity are screening context only.

Pipeline mapping has limits

The map shows only mapped AER segments that match GridLens's gas and status filters. AER advises verifying specific locations through survey plans, owners and field observation; the source also excludes low-pressure distribution lines.

Connection Process

Project stages

A later number indicates a later point in the AESO Connection Process. Stages 1 and 2 are labelled collectively because their precise work differs between assessment pathways.

0Application

1Assessment phase

2Assessment phase

3Regulatory Preparation

4AUC Applications

5Construction

6Close Out

Stage is the published state at the time of a Project List. It is not a completion probability or a guaranteed schedule.

Glossary

Terms used across the site

Definitions describe how a term is used on GridLens. Where a term originates in an AESO or AER publication, the source meaning is preserved and the GridLens interpretation is stated explicitly.

Connection-project reporting

AESO: Alberta Electric System Operator, the organization that publishes the connection-project and grid datasets used by GridLens.
Connection Project List: The AESO's published record of in-progress Connection Process projects with an accepted SASR, together with recently energized and recently cancelled projects. GridLens sometimes calls it the project list or queue for brevity.
SASR: System Access Service Request. An accepted SASR receives the AESO project number used to track a project across monthly lists.
P-number: The AESO project identifier shown with a Project List entry, such as P1234. It helps distinguish and follow projects across publications.
Project type: The process path assigned by AESO, such as Connection, Behind the Fence (BTF), or Contract. It describes the nature of the connection work, not whether the project is load or generation.
MW type: The source category describing generation technology or the nature of a load or other request—for example solar, gas, data load, storage, equipment change, or a contract modification.
Status: The state published for a project in a particular list. GridLens preserves the AESO wording, including Active, ISD Under Review, Recently Energized, and Recently Cancelled where present.
Queue: GridLens shorthand for currently listed connection projects. It does not imply a simple first-in, first-out order, a construction commitment, or a probability of completion.

Power, service and timing

MW: Megawatt, a unit of power. On GridLens, the context matters: Project List MW is a reported contract-capacity change, while the capability layer is a separate generation-screening assessment.
DTS: Demand Transmission Service. DTS MW is the contract-capacity change reported for load at an energization; it is not total site demand or available grid capacity.
STS: Supply Transmission Service. STS MW is the contract-capacity change reported for supply or generation at an energization; it is not necessarily a generator's maximum capability.
EN1 / EN2 / EN3: Chronological energization stages within one project when contract capacity or work enters service on different dates.
ISD: In-service date reported for an energization's requested contract capacity, or the work-completion date for a project without a service-agreement change. It is not a guarantee or necessarily the market participant's commercial-operation date.
Listed DTS MW: A view of the reported DTS contract-capacity changes for the projects currently in scope. It is not a forecast of coincident load.
Transmission capability: On the GridLens map, generation capability from the AESO assessment: the incremental generation screened at a location without introducing Category A thermal violations under the assessment assumptions.
N-0 / Category A: A system condition with all modeled transmission elements in service. The published capability screen does not include N-1 outages, voltage or stability limits, downstream equipment limits, or every factor in an engineering connection assessment.

Geography and infrastructure

Planning area: The AESO geographic area published for a connection project and substation. It is not the same as a county or municipality.
Planning region: A broader AESO grid-planning geography that contains multiple planning areas. It is not interchangeable with a municipal region or county.
County: GridLens's browse label for municipal-district and county geography. County pages describe mapped infrastructure, not an AESO attribution of connection-project MW.
Substation: A mapped grid facility. Projects shown for the surrounding planning area are context, not proof that they connect at that specific substation.
Facility code: The published identifier for a substation or facility, often shown with an S suffix. It is not a connection-project number.
TFO: Transmission Facility Owner. Where published, this identifies the owner associated with a transmission facility; it is distinct from the market participant proposing a connection project.
DLS address: Dominion Land Survey land description published for a substation. It is a legal-land reference, not a street address.
Tracked substation footprint: The number of mapped substations associated with a county on GridLens. It is not a measure of electrical capacity or queue demand.

Natural-gas pipeline context

AER: Alberta Energy Regulator, the public source for the pipeline mapping shown by GridLens.
Natural-gas pipeline layer: A current map layer containing AER-mapped segments whose source record includes Natural Gas or Sour Natural Gas and whose status is Operating or Permitted. It is a selected display layer, not a complete gas-distribution map, network model or historical record.
Pipeline segment: An individual source line record associated with a pipeline licence and a set of engineering specifications. One physical pipeline system can contain many segments, so a segment count is not a count of distinct pipelines.
Operating (pipeline): The AER source status for a segment recorded as approved, constructed, licensed and carrying substance. It does not indicate spare capacity, delivery pressure, commercial availability or that a new connection is feasible.
Permitted (pipeline): The AER source status for a segment approved for construction. A permitted segment may not yet be constructed or operating, so GridLens does not present it as existing service.
Sour natural gas: The AER substance category for natural gas with more than 10 mol/kmol hydrogen sulfide (H2S) content. GridLens preserves the source category and does not infer site-specific risk or setback requirements from it.
Outside diameter: The source-reported outside diameter of a pipeline in millimetres. Diameter alone does not establish flow capacity, available capacity or serviceability at a site.
MAOP (source value): The source attribute named maximum operating pressure. Because the published source metadata does not state a unit for this field, GridLens does not convert it or treat it as a comparable measure of deliverability.

GridLens records

Monthly update: An AESO Connection Project List published for a particular month and preserved by GridLens.
Current version: The latest GridLens record for a project. Earlier observations may remain available as historical context.
Detected change: A difference observed between collected Project List publications. Detection does not establish exactly when the underlying real-world change occurred.
Newly listed: A project present in one monthly update but not the previous update. It means newly observed in the collected series, not necessarily newly conceived or newly applied.
No longer listed: A project present in one monthly update but absent from the next. Because absence alone does not reveal the cause, GridLens does not automatically label it cancelled or energized.
Screening: Early comparison intended to identify where deeper diligence may be worthwhile. It is not an interconnection study, capacity assessment, engineering opinion, or investment recommendation.