California Test System (CATS): A Geographically Accurate Test System Based on the California Grid

This paper presents the California Test System (CATS), a synthetic transmission grid in California that can be used by the public for power systems policy research without revealing any critical energy information. The proposed synthetic grid combines publicly available geographic data of California's electric infrastructure, such as the actual locations of transmission corridors, with invented topology and transmission line parameters that are “realistic but not real”. The result is a power grid test system that is suitable for power flow and policy analyses with geo-referenced applications, including studies related to weather, topography, and socio-economic considerations. The methods used to develop and evaluate the CATS grid are documented in detail in this report.