Energy prices are affecting how we move water: A summer at the California Department of Water Resources

Dillan Saltsman
Hometown: Ripon, CA
Major: Environmental Systems Engineering ‘27
Internship: California Department of Water Resources

As a Bill Lane Center intern and a Shultz Energy Fellow, Dillan Saltsman gained a close working relationship with his mentors, more data analysis skills, and a better sense of what it means to work in the public sector around topics of water and energy.

My name is Dillan Saltsman, and I am very excited to have worked as a Bill Lane Center intern and Shultz Energy Fellow with the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) this summer! I began the fellowship by learning and being trained on the California Independent System Operator markets (CAISO) since DWR participates heavily in the Day Ahead Market for energy. A trend of negative pricing existed last year, which, though sporadic, became more pronounced and increasingly consistent this year. I created graphs and regression plots to explain this trend while pointing to possible correlation factors such as temperature, location across the state, and the share of renewable energy. As I develop regression plots to form a predictive model, I am working on a final report that will synthesize my findings and provide further guidance for DWR’s operations this fall.

My project was much more independent than I expected, as it concerns forecasting more than any of DWR’s daily operations. I am grateful for both of my mentors, Ryan and Tawnly, who have confidence in my potential and a strong desire to teach me what I need to know. I hope my project’s results will positively impact DWR’s pumping and generation schedule. By better predicting the occurrence of negative Locational Marginal Prices (LMPs) with new models, DWR can plan strategically to recover costs wherever possible.

A chart depicting the California Independent Systems Operator locational marginal price minimums by day for the years 2023 and 2024. Chart by Dillan Saltsman.

I have formed great relationships with both of my DWR mentors, who have guided me throughout my project with ideas and given me the confidence to move forward into heavy data analysis. I have frequent meetings with them when we look over our data visuals so I can ask questions about the context behind the data. It has broadened my hard skill set in a transferable way toward whatever I pursue in the future. I have gained more specific skills in data analysis and intermediate statistics, which are applied practically to my current project and research in the engineering field.

One moment that stands out to me is the agency lunch that I recently hosted. Each fellow gets the chance to host a lunch for their host agency, where other fellows can hear from them and their mentors to get a well-rounded sense of how the energy industry functions. I had the opportunity to present my work at DWR to others for the first time, and I believe that sparked new realizations within me of my potential to create a meaningful impact here. I was also able to share the knowledge and insight I have gained from my mentors, which helps me to see how far I have come from when I had little specific experience in my first year spring quarter, only a strong desire to learn.