Grid Operations Specialist

Overview

The Senior Grid Operations Specialist position provides advanced electrical engineering and technical support to control center personnel to ensure reliable and secure operation of the transmission system. This role performs complex power flow, transient stability, and contingency analyses to identify and mitigate transmission constraints during both planned and unplanned outages. It supports operational planning and real-time environments with load and generation forecasting.

The position is responsible for the maintenance and enhancement of crucial advanced applications software associated with the Tri-State Energy Management System (EMS), including Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Automatic Generation Control (AGC) functionality, State Estimator (SE) software and network modeling, Contingency Analysis (CA), and the Operator Training Simulator (OTS). Special applications such as the Generation Plant Allocator integration are also in scope.

The Senior Grid Operations Specialist develops and applies engineering-based real-time power system calculations to support operational decisions and has authority and accountability for compliance with all applicable NERC and Regional Entity Reliability Standards.

• Perform real-time contingency analyses and engineering studies for forced and planned outages.
• Conduct next-day and real-time power flow and transient stability analyses.
• Support the suite of Tri-State advanced network applications including SE, network model, CA, OTS, AGC, and Generating Plant Output Al locators.
• Ensure high quality and accurate network application solutions by tuning the network model and correcting issues with real-time telemetry, model parameters, and related measurements.
• Interface with the EMS functional area regarding state estimator, contingency analysis, real-time model, and training simulator.
• Assist in the development of specifications, related software and hardware, and documentation for the training simulator.
• Coordinate Transmission System Operations needs with Power Marketing, Transmission Maintenance, Transmission Engineering, and Transmission Planning functions.
• Maintain the transmission line data catalog for Transmission System Operations’ needs; maintain historical records regarding transformers and line loadings for use by Transmission Planning and Transmission Engineering.
• Represent Transmission System Operations in pre-construction meetings and related project meetings; provide input and approval in development, implementation and maintenance of Transmission System Operations Procedures and related documents.
• Assist in emergency preparedness, including training and procedures for outages and reliability events; coordinate with RC/BA as required by NERC standards.
• Support and coordinate the Transmission System Operations workload in accordance with NERC standards and regional practices.
• Participate in NERC/WECC/RC committees as needed and assist with audits.
• Act as Acting Grid Operations Support Supervisor as required and maintain compliance with company policies and applicable regulations.

• Education and Training: Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET-accredited program required. Possess NERC Certification or the ability to become NERC Certified within one year.
• Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of engineering principles and practices applicable to Transmission System Operations. Experience with power flow studies using PSSE, Power World, and PSLF software. Basic knowledge of protection systems and schemes. Fluency in Python or other related programming languages. Working knowledge of State Estimation, real-time power system applications software (Power Flow, AGC, SE), client/server systems, networks, RTU equipment, and SCADA.
• Extensive knowledge of an interconnected electrical grid and ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships. Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to work with Tri-State’s service area.
• Experience:
  
  Eight (8) years of progressive electric utility experience.
  
  Note:
  
  The above requirements describe the experience and education qualifications for the Senior Grid Operations Specialist; those with less experience will be hired at I, II, or III job grades.