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

Technical Report · Fri May 06 04:00:00 EDT 2005

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/885990· OSTI ID:885990

Kirby, BJ

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. Spinning reserve has never been supplied from load before, and rule changes would be needed to allow it. In this report, we are presenting technical findings on the possibility of supplying spinning reserve from pumping system load. In parallel, we are pursuing the needed rule changes with the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), and the CAISO. NERC and FERC have agreed that they have no prohibition against supplying spinning reserve from load. The WECC Minimum Operability Reliability Criteria working group has agreed that the concept should be considered, and they are presently discussing the needed tariff and rule changes. Presently, spinning reserve is provided by generation that is actually spinning but is operating at low power levels and can be ramped up quickly to provide reserve power. In a sense, this is an inefficient and environmentally unfriendly way of providing reserves because it requires the generator to operate at a low power level that may be inefficient and may discharge more pollutants per kW than operating at rated power. It would be better if this generation capacity were in a position to bid into the energy market. Providing an additional supply of spinning reserve would tend to reduce prices for both reserves and the regular electric energy market. The CAISO is presently in the process of redesigning its market rules for ancillary services. The time is right to pursue this opportunity to supply spinning reserve from load. It is our hope that the CDWR will endorse this recommendation. ORNL will then work with FERC, NERC, WECC, and the CAISO to obtain the needed rule changes. This project would provide the CDWR with another option in the complex process of obtaining its energy at the lowest possible cost, while at the same time providing more flexibility to the ISO and relief to the energy market. After this project is implemented in California, we hope that the practice spreads across the nation, allowing much more flexibility in energy markets and increasing the availability of reserve services.

• Research Organization: ORNL
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 885990
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM 2003/99
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION
AVAILABILITY
CAPACITY
ELECTRIC RELIABILITY COUNCILS
ELECTRICITY
FLEXIBILITY
MARKET
POLLUTANTS
POWER TRANSMISSION LINES
PRICES
PUMPING
RELIABILITY
TARIFFS
US FERC
WATER RESOURCES