Sr / Principal Economic Risk Analyst

Job Title

At PGE, our work involves dreaming about, planning for, and realizing a smarter, cleaner, more enduring Oregon neighborhood. Its core to our DNA and we haven't stopped since we started in 1888. We energize lives, strengthen communities and drive advancements in energy that promote social, economic and environmental progress. We're always on the lookout for people passionate about leading and being a part of teams that are advancing innovative clean energy solutions that are also affordable and accessible to all.

In this role you will lead efforts in reliability-focused economic life cycle risk modeling and business case analyses. Utilizing various analytical and statistical techniques, the team utilizes a data-driven, risk-based methodology that provides insight and guidance for PGE's transmission, substation, distribution, and generation teams' investment decisions. In collaboration with stakeholders, the team develops risk models, which are utilized in analyses to recommend risk-informed and reliability improvement capital investments and optimized maintenance spending. They also serve as subject matter experts (SMEs) for reliability risk modeling and benefits quantification within PGE.

This position requires a clear understanding of economic principles, high analytical acumen, and strong modeling capabilities due to the models being complex nature. Core activities include developing, maintaining, and enhancing risk models, completing business case evaluation, quantifying benefits, developing enterprise goals for risk, reliability & resilience, and supporting the prioritization of capital investment portfolios. The role offers opportunities to work on a wide range of projects and topics, including supporting stakeholders in economically evaluating long-term investment strategies and partnering to improve business processes.

The successful candidate will work closely with Operations, Engineering, and Portfolio Management teams, collaborating with subject matter experts to understand the various factors impacting the performance of PGE's assets and customer service. Interaction with peer utilities and outside agencies, such as the Oregon Public Utility Commission, is also part of the role.

The two openings that will be filled at either level. The level and salary will be commensurate with knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience.

Career Level Summary

Senior:

• Requires in-depth knowledge and experience
• Uses best practices and knowledge of internal or external business issues to improve products or services
• Solves complex problems; takes a new perspective using existing solutions
• Works independently; receives minimal guidance
• Acts as a resource for colleagues with less experience

Principal:

• Requires specialized depth and/or breadth of expertise
• Interprets internal or external business issues and recommends best practices
• Solves complex problems; takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions
• Works independently with guidance in only the most complex situations
• May lead functional teams or project

Responsibilities

Specializes in strategic analytics to develop economic risk models, complete business case evaluations and analyze economics of long-term investment strategy decisions.

Economic life-cycle model development and maintenance

• Collaborate with team members & subject matter experts to develop, maintain, and recommend improvements to the economic life cycle models and tools. Contribute to quality assurance and quality control for economic life cycle models and tools. Lead the effort in the development and maintenance of documentation for economic life cycle models and tools

Analysis and subject matter expertise

• Analyze economic life cycle model outputs to evaluate and recommend investments to support near-term and long-term PGE's strategic reliability strategic goals.
• Complete complex life cycle cost analyses to support project investment decisions, which may include replacement, rejuvenation, maintenance, and other strategic activities.
• Develop and performs business case evaluations & portfolio scenarios outlining the projects and programs benefits such as, system & customer reliability & resiliency, safety, compliance, and operational efficiencies
• Contribute to calculating & reporting of project and portfolio benefits metrics
• Contribute technical economic risk analyses to support regulatory & compliance filings, as required. Ensures personal technical work product meets all analytical and procedural requirements, including Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) and other state and federal requirements.

In addition, the principal is responsible for:

Economic life-cycle model development and maintenance

• Lead the collaboration with team members & subject matter experts develop, maintain, and recommend improvements to the economic life cycle models and tools. Lead the quality assurance and quality control for the economic life cycle models and tools.

Analysis and subject matter expertise

• Lead analysis of economic life cycle model outputs to evaluate and recommend investments to support near-term and long-term PGE's strategic reliability strategic goals.
• Lead and complete complex life cycle cost analyses to support project investment decisions, which may include replacement, rejuvenation, maintenance, and other strategic activities.
• Lead efforts to develop and perform business case evaluations & portfolio scenarios outlining investment benefits impacting system & customer reliability, safety, compliance, and operational efficiencies.
• Lead the calculating & reporting of project and portfolio benefits metrics
• Serve as reliability economic risk analyses subject matter expert.
• Be a lead contributor to regulatory & compliance filings, as required. Ensures personal technical work product meets all analytical and procedural requirements, including Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) and other state and federal requirements.

Education/Experience/Certifications

• Requires a bachelor's degree in business, economics, engineering or related financial or scientific discipline or equivalent experience
• Senior: Typically, five or more years inutility or similar energy sector experience in the area(s) of engineering, power operations, economic forecasting, accounting, finance or regulatory affairs or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Principal: Typically, eight or more years in utility or similar energy sector experience in the area(s) of engineering, power operations, economic forecasting, accounting, finance or regulatory affairs or a related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Knowledge, skills, and abilities

Advanced knowledge of PGE and western U.S loads, generation, state Renewable Portfolio Standard targets and transmission links.

Advanced knowledge of fundamental electricity supply and demand drivers, energy market dynamics and risk and valuation techniques for evaluating resource alternatives.

Advanced knowledge of resource strategy concepts and considerations to identify and evaluate potential opportunities for resource acquisition.

Advanced knowledge of analytical techniques and cost-modeling theory and practices.

Advanced knowledge of electric market modeling and forecasting tools.

Advanced knowledge of applicable statutes, policies, rules, regulations and codes.

Advanced skills in using database applications.

Intermediate skills with programming languages used in department.

Advanced analytical thinking skills

Advanced business acumen

Advanced decision-making skills

Advanced enterprise/business awareness skills

Advanced influence skills

Advanced presentation/facilitation skills

Advanced written/oral communication skills

Advanced diplomacy skills

Physical and Cognitive Demands

Cognitive:

Consistent use of logic or scientific thinking to define problems, collect information, establish facts and draw valid conclusions (for example, engineer, HR director, plant manager, etc).

Ability to adhere to set response times, deadlines and time-sensitive tasks

Ability to follow accuracy standards

Ability to follow through on decision-making tasks

Ability to interact effectively and collaboratively within a team environment

Ability to communicate and problem solve when under stress

Ability to respond and adapt to frequent change

Ability to accept and demonstrate self-awareness when provided constructive feedback

Ability to discern feedback and acknowledge ownership of areas of improvement

Ability to avoid future mistakes by applying reasonable skills to new but similar work situations or tasks

Ability to successfully collaborate with peers, managers, and others within the organization

Demonstrates sound memory

Ability to process new information to be applied consistently to work tasks

Schedule/Attendance

Ability to work long hours

Ability to work a variable schedule

Ability to report to work and perform work during periods of severe inclement weather

Ability to consistently meet attendance standards for regular, reliable, predictable, full-time attendance [for part-time positions, change to part-time attendance]