Distribution Operator

AES Ohio serves approximately 500,000 customers across a 6,000 square-mile service area in Southwest-Central Ohio. This includes 14,800 miles of distribution lines and over 150 substations.

Under limited direction, the Distribution Operator controls and operates the company's distribution resources—including circuit breakers, switches, voltage regulating equipment, and other devices associated with the system. The role ensures compliance with PUCO regulations and AES safety and operating standards, while coordinating and directing all switching operations on the mainline distribution system.

• Implements real-time actions, up to and including shedding firm load under direction of the transmission System Operator
• Directs all actions for safety and reliability of the distribution electric grid, including field crews, electrical equipment, and customers in matters that affect distribution grid reliability
• Directs all switching and tagging activities to achieve LOTO isolation on mainline distribution equipment for both scheduled and outage situations
• Responds to distribution disturbances within established regulatory, industry, and company standards to assure a continuous supply of electricity to customers
• On point to communicate to co-workers and management the status of abnormal system conditions
• Monitors and utilizes reactive reserves to ensure system reliability
• Mentor Distribution Operator Trainees through the Operator training game plan
• Annually review and update department Standard Operating Procedures
• Utilize the system model to simulate removing distribution elements from service and review resulting contingency analysis to prevent any real time violations which may occur
• Responsible for being knowledgeable of the procedures to transfer operations to the Back-up Control Center and implementing if necessary
• Assist with outage scheduling—writing switch orders, coordinating resources, customer and running load flow studies to evaluate outages and contingencies, planning projects and looking for conflicting outages, develop mitigation strategies for reliability concerns
• Assist with developing and maintaining department tools—support model updates, state estimator and contingency analysis troubleshooting, monitor and resolve solution cost or high iteration alarms, solve bad data problems, PI situational awareness displays, work with EMS staff on ADMS updates and model pushes
• Develops and maintains knowledge of the Company's substation, distribution and transmission systems, relay protection schemes, safety requirements, electrical theory, field equipment capabilities and associated operating procedures and guidelines

• Bachelor's degree in engineering or other technical discipline is preferred
• Associate's degree with demonstrated aptitude in math and electrical theory accepted, especially when paired with relevant work experience in electrical utility operations
• Equivalent combinations of education and experience will be considered
• Company-level training completion required

• Strong written and verbal communication
• Ability to comprehend complex instructions and technical documentation
• Proficiency in algebra, geometry, and electrical theory
• Skilled in using databases, spreadsheets, and word processing tools
• Ability to make sound judgments and crucial decisions in short amounts of time
• Ability to understand and assimilate complex technical information
• Ability to work with little supervision and only general guidelines at times
• Ability to operate grid operations systems and other computer platforms
• Capable of interpreting diverse data sets to ensure grid reliability
• Able to solve practical problems with limited standardization
• Authorized to take real-time actions and shed firm load during emergencies
• Responsible for decisions impacting employee safety and equipment integrity
• Ability to perform physical tasks such as standing for extended periods and occasionally lifting up to 25 pounds
• Ability to work rotating shifts and respond effectively to changing system conditions
• Comfortable working in a control room environment with continuous monitoring responsibilities

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