Transmission Settlements Analyst Senior

Arizona Public Service generates reliable, affordable and clean energy for 2.7 million Arizonans. Our service territory stretches across the state, from the border town of Douglas to the vistas of the Grand Canyon, from the solar fields of Gila Bend to the ponderosa pines of Payson. As the state’s largest and longest-serving energy provider, our more than 6,000 dedicated employees power our vision of creating a sustainable energy future for Arizona.

Since our founding in 1886, APS has demonstrated a strong commitment to our customers in one of the country’s fastest growing states, earning a reputation for customer satisfaction, shareholder value, operational excellence and business integrity.

Our present and future success depends on the creative and dedicated people of our company who demonstrate the principles outlined in the APS Promise: Design for Tomorrow, Empower Each Other and Succeed Together.

Summary

Summary of team: Transmission Settlements (also known as Transmission Billing) is responsible for calculating, validating, invoicing, and collecting charges associated with customers’ use of the APS transmission system. The charges are governed by APS’s Open Access Transmission Tariff which defines transmission services, rates, and billing requirements we must follow. The team regularly performs validations on meter data, pricing, and transmission contracts to ensure invoices are accurate, complete, and compliant with FERC approved tariff provisions.

Summary of role: Under minimal supervision, complete invoicing, reconciliation and energy accounting activities associated with the marketing and trading of energy and transmission services. Validate system loads verifying energy flows, inadvertent energy balances, ensure control area accounting of transfer energy and metered load data, ensure the completeness and reliability of metered load data. Validate organized energy market settlements by using statistical and visual analytics to identify issues including market, and/or data calculation discrepancies. May serve as technical resource to department analysts and other personnel on resolving reconciliation problems, interpreting information, contracts, agreements, generally accepted accounting principles.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Finance, Economics, Statistics, Physics, Engineering or Computer Science 
• PLUS five (5) years experience in accounting reconciliation, energy commodity billing, portfolio modeling, energy trading, data analysis, financial reporting; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Candidates with an advanced degree in applied data analytics, data science, statistics or business analytics may substitute two of the five years of professional experience.
• Experience in energy accounting processes, commodity billing, data analysis, energy markets, financial reporting, related auditing techniques, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.
• Ability to identify and resolve issues using problem solving, collaboration and data analysis.
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word

Preferred Skills, Knowledge or Qualifications

• Experience using analytical tools such as Power BI (used heavily) and SQL.
• Knowledge of commodity trading and valuation, risk management, price curves, regulatory environments (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or Arizona Corporation Commission), utility operations, or organized energy markets.

Major Accountabilities

• Utilize critical thinking to analyze intricate data related to billing, energy, natural gas, transmission, coal, commodity pricing, and emissions system data. 
• Ensure data accuracy by proactively identifying and correcting discrepancies and investigating to determine their root causes. This includes validating invoices, settlement statements, various system data, market settlements and monitoring meters.
• Perform the invoicing process from invoice creation to general ledger posting and collection.
• Gather, analyze and reconcile commodity data from various sources to identify errors, trends, and inefficiencies.
• Ensure billing accuracy and compliance with company policies/procedures and industry best practices.
• Monitor pricing indexes and update forward price curves to perform regular valuations of the overall financial portfolio based on the updated values.
• Review financial positions and coordinate across departments to ensure compliance with the company hedge policy. 
• Gather, monitor, ensure and report data for compliance with state and federal regulations, particularly those set by Arizona Corporation Commission, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) related to utility transmission, power energy, natural gas and peak demand and California Air Resource Board.
• Prepare and present moderately complex technical and financial reports and findings to management and internal stakeholders.
• Effectively communicating with other utility companies, energy suppliers, market clients, and market operators to coordinate energy-related activities, reporting and settlements.
• Support internal and external audits by providing accurate settlement, invoicing, and payment data.
• Analyze and interpret complex contract provisions, including researching provisions, reconciling settlement data, resolving disputes with counterparties and control areas, and managing payment collections.
• Serves as a technical resource for other staff members in developing analysis and interpretation of contract parameters, agreements, and policies to ensure compliance with policies and government rules and regulations.
• Apply Lean principles and process improvement methodologies and principles to work processes.
• Develop solutions/alternatives to difficult problems where not all variables are known and which involve exercising critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and judgment within generally defined practices and procedures.
• Ensure system functions and configurations are accurate for settlement, trade capture, risk control, billing, meter, and transmission data.
• Ensure accuracy of data, and test system application enhancements working with application technical staff to ensure data integrity and functionality requirements are met.
• Provide a high level of service to internal and external customers responding to business unit inquiries or data requests.
• Research, analyze and resolve complex requests. Assist staff, auditors or management in the resolution of issues that require expertise or have a significant financial or legal impact.
• Ensure compliance and controls by maintaining and creating appropriate documentation, files, records, systems, or desk procedures.

Export Compliance / EEO Statement

This position may require access to and/or use of information subject to control under the Department of Energy's Part 810 Regulations (10 CFR Part 810), the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) (15 CFR Parts 730 through 774), or the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) (22 CFR Chapter I, Subchapter M Part 120) (collectively, 'U.S. Export Control Laws'). Therefore, some positions may require applicants to be a U.S. person, which is defined as a U.S. Citizen, a U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident (i.e. 'Green Card Holder'), a Political Asylee, or a Refugee under the U.S. Export Control Laws. All applicants will be required to confirm their U.S. person or non-US person status. All information collected in this regard will only be used to ensure compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws, and will be used in full compliance with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of national origin and other factors. For positions at Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Stations (PVNGS) all openings will require applicants to be a U.S. person.

Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and its subsidiaries and affiliates ('Pinnacle West') maintain a continuing policy of nondiscrimination in employment. It is our policy to provide equal opportunity in all phases of the employment process and in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. This policy of nondiscrimination shall include, but not be limited to, recruiting, hiring, promoting, compensating, reassigning, demoting, transferring, laying off, recalling, terminating employment, and training for all positions without regard to race, color, religion, disability, age, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, protected veteran status, or any other classification or characteristic protected by law.

For more information on applicable equal employment regulations, please refer to EEO is the Law poster. Federal law requires all employers to verify the identity and employment eligibility of every person hired to work in the United States, refer to E-Verify poster. View the employee rights and responsibilities under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

In compliance with the Drug Free Workplace Act of 1988, the Company is committed to a work environment that is free from the effects of alcohol and controlled substances, and free from the abuse or inappropriate use of prescribed and over-the-counter medications. The Company requires employees to be subject to drug and alcohol testing that is job-related and consistent with business necessity, regulatory requirements and applicable laws.

Hybrid:  Employees in hybrid roles work both in their home offices (virtually) and alongside their colleagues (in person). 

In order for employees to build strong relationships and to promote meaningful in-person interactions, hybrid employees are expected to work about 40% of their time in-person at an APS or other (non-home office) location.

• Employees are expected to reside in Arizona (or New Mexico for Four Corners-based employees).   
• Working from a home office requires adequate technology and an appropriate ergonomic set up.  
• Role types are subject to change based on business need.