Advocating for Pumped Storage: Reliability, Resilience, and Market Signals for Long-Duration Energy Storage

As the transmission grid faces rising demand and growing renewable penetration, pumped storage hydropower and other long-duration energy storage resources provide reliability services the system increasingly depends on—but markets often fail to fully value.

In this session, attendees will learn why that disconnect exists and, more importantly, what can be done about it. Panelists will explain how current wholesale electricity markets structures and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) policies influence investment decisions; where long-duration reliability benefits such as inertia, resilience, and sustained flexibility are undervalued; and what specific market and policy changes could address these gaps.

The discussion will clarify realistic “market fixes,” outline how stakeholders can engage with FERC and RTO processes, and explore how federal financing tools and regulatory reform can work together to unlock projects.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of the problem, a more concrete path forward, and practical insight into how coordinated advocacy can help move long-duration, dispatchable resources from recognized need to market reality.

Presenter(s)

Todd BriggemanProject Manager, Hydropower and Hydraulic StructuresBlack & VeatchSession Leader

Scottie BarrentineProject Manager, Pumped Storage InitiativeTennessee Valley Authority (TVA)Speaker

Steven LiebermanVice President of Transmission and Regulatory AffairsAmerican Municipal Power, Inc. (AMP)Speaker

Florian NagelExecutive Vice President, Head of Americas RegionB.Grimm PowerSpeaker