Strategic Gas Planning Manager

SCS Commercial Operations – Gas Supply & Energy Trading
This position will be located at The Energy Center in Birmingham, AL

The Strategic Gas Planning Manager in Gas Supply and Energy Trading (GSET) is responsible for shaping Southern Company’s long‑term natural gas supply, infrastructure, and storage strategy to ensure reliable, flexible, and cost‑effective fuel delivery for the generating fleet, including new generation required to serve large‑load growth. This role leads forward‑looking evaluation of pipeline expansions, upstream supply options, and storage needs, ensuring reliability and balancing cost, risk diversification, and future optionality amid evolving market dynamics and LNG competition.

The position works in close partnership with the Gas Procurement Manager and the Gas Operations Manager, ensuring strategic planning decisions are aligned with commercial and operational needs. Through engagement with pipelines, suppliers, and marketers, this role negotiates precedent agreements, assesses execution and supply risks, enhances supply basin diversity, and develops fuel solutions for new generating assets. This role partners closely with System Planning, OPCOs, and Commercial Operations leadership to align gas strategy with fleet expansion and operational requirements, while providing leadership through cross‑functional collaboration, analyst development, and clear communication of complex strategic issues to stakeholders.

• Deep gas market experience, with an understanding of evolving market dynamics and future supply challenges is strongly preferred
• Origination experience in Southeast gas markets with proven negotiating skills and a track record of creating value in transactions is strongly preferred
• Strong relationships with pipelines, marketers, suppliers, and other end users are strongly preferred
• Extensive knowledge of pipelines across and into the Southeast, as well as upstream supply sources and basins is strongly preferred
• Knowledge of gas requirements for electric generation and understanding of how pipeline limitations and tariff language can present challenges for electric generation is strongly preferred
• Strong, innovative problem‑solver with the proven ability to communicate complex topics in written or verbal form to diverse audiences
• Gas trading or scheduling experience is a plus
• Knowledge of Southern Company gas generating fleet or fleet operations is a plus

Focus:

• Forward‑looking supply strategy, infrastructure planning, and risk diversification.
• Evaluate new generation siting options and fuel availability while balancing cost, reliability, flexibility and future optionality.
• Support System Planning and OPCOs in new generation discussions.
• Engage with pipelines in conceptual discussions of expansion and greenfield projects.
• Negotiate precedent agreements (PAs).
• Track and report progress of pipeline projects, evaluating execution risk and keeping management informed of any changes.
• Assess supply risks, LNG competition, upstream project economics, and total cost (FT + commodity) for upstream supply projects to ensure reliable and low‑cost supply into the system.
• Enhance supply basin diversity for reliability and price stability.
• Anticipate evolving market dynamics, infrastructure trends, and future supply challenges.

• Determine storage needed (total volume, locations, deliverability) to serve current and future generating fleet for reliability and daily pipeline balancing.
• Work with storage providers to contract existing and develop new storage assets.

• Direct comprehensive long‑term strategy for transportation, supply, and storage development, ensuring a reliable, liquid supply of natural gas while minimizing cost for customers.
• Engage with key players across pipelines, marketers, suppliers, and other end users to influence outcomes and create opportunities that are aligned with Southern Company needs.
• Build relationships cross‑functionally within GSET to understand current and future operational challenges, across CO to understand gas strategy impact on the generating fleet, and across OPCOs to understand and address…