Spinning Reserve from Pump Load: A Technical Findings Report to the California Department of Water Resources

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), at the request of the California Energy Commission and the U.S. Department of Energy, is investigating opportunities for electrical load to provide the ancillary service of spinning reserve to the electric grid. The load would provide this service by stopping for a short time when there is a contingency on the grid such as a transmission line or generator outage. There is a possibility that a significant portion of the California Independent System Operator's (CAISO's) spinning reserve requirement could be supplied from the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) pumping load.