Distribution Planning Engineer, Energy

Welty Energy; Oregon; Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Welty Energy is seeking a Distribution Planning Engineer to join the Scoping & Estimating team. The role centers on planning and reliability of distribution systems, with responsibilities spanning planning studies, modeling, budgeting, and related analyses to ensure robust electrical infrastructure.

Qualified candidates will have 3–8 years in planning engineering, experience with electrical systems and switching, and strong communication skills.

Qualifications

• ABET-accredited Electrical Engineering degree preferred
• Minimum 3–8 years of planning engineering experience
• Experience with electrical systems, operations, maintenance, switching and tagging
• Knowledge of regulatory and customer reliability requirements
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Willing to travel and work irregular hours

Responsibilities

• Develop planning studies to drive distribution system expansions
• Model distribution systems and compute voltage drop and fault currents
• Prepare budgets and schedules for system reinforcement projects
• Perform switching studies for mobile applications
• Design and support distributed control systems for line switches and reclosers
• Conduct long-term area planning studies and load growth analyses
• Perform capacity and load studies for new customer requests
• Carry out power quality studies and interconnection reviews
• Support operations with real-time monitoring and switching studies
• Contribute to outage analysis and reliability improvements

Skills

Electrical systems analysis

Load flow studies

Reliability engineering

Budgeting & forecasting

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (ABET-accredited)

PE License (10+ years experience)

Bachelor of Science in Engineering Technology (ABET)

Tools

Power system analysis software

Relay coordination software

Job description

Welty Energy is looking for a Distribution Planning Engineer to join our Scoping & Estimating team!

Welty Energy, an affiliate of Welty, is a professional services company specializing in program and project management, transmission line engineering, substation engineering and construction oversight on transmission, substation and distribution projects ranging in voltages from 4kV to 765kV. Headquartered in Akron, OH, and working nationally, Welty Energy currently manages approximately $500 million in construction projects for electric utilities in the Midwest and Northeast regions of the U.S.

Position Overview

Distribution Planning Engineer position is responsible for the planning and reliability of the client's distribution systems. The engineer performs analysis and recommends solutions to maintain a reliable electrical infrastructure that meets present and future electrical needs.

Responsibilities include

• Investigating and developing planning studies to recommend and drive the necessary distribution system expansions and modifications to maintain reliable electrical infrastructure that meets present and future electrical needs.
• Demonstrating proficiency in the use of engineering analysis software to model the distribution system and calculate voltage drop and fault currents of circuits
• Preparing budget estimates and schedules for system reinforcement projects
• Supporting operations and maintenance by performing switching studies for mobile applications as needed
• Designing and supporting the installation of distributed control systems including radio controls for line switches and reclosers as well as loop line sectionalizing schemes
• Performing long-term, area-wide planning studies using applicable distribution system analysis software and preparing load study reports that detail the study findings and recommendations
• Performing capacity studies for customer new load requests and preparing load study reports that detail the study findings and recommendations
• Performing power quality studies as needed
• Performing technical reviews and interconnection studies for customer distributed generation applications
• Supporting operations with real-time system monitoring and operating/switching studies during peak load periods and system emergencies
• Performing outage analysis, including analysis of circuit lockouts, in support of the Company's reliability initiatives
• Completing Customer Experiencing Multiple Interruptions (CEMI) and Worst Performing Circuit (WPC) analysis and recommend reliability improvements
• Investigating and responding to customer reliability inquiries received through regulatory agencies, Company officers and/or Company processes
• May be assigned special projects as business needs require

Qualifications

• One of the following 3 Educational backgrounds:
  • Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from an ABET accredited institution is preferred.
  • Alternatively a Professional Engineer's (PE) License will be acceptable with experience of 10+ years in the industryBachelor of Science degree in Engineering Technology from an ABET accredited institution
• Minimum of 3 to 8 years’ planning engineering experience is required
• Experience and knowledge of electrical systems, operations, and maintenance practices, switching and tagging, computer systems, work management and electrical controls are desired. Relay control work experience is a plus
• Demonstrated experience in effectively working and communicating across functional boundaries and providing total customer satisfaction
• Able to identify and implement effective restoration processes and procedures
• Self-motivated and a self-starter, customer focused, results oriented and a team player
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Able to analyze data, write technical reports, develop work packages to implement recommendations and the ability to handle multiple assignments
• Able to apply technical skills to solve practical problems and develop and provide technical information to support the Regional Dispatching Office to ensure safe and efficient operation of the electrical system
• Willing to travel throughout the service territory, and willing to work extra and/or irregular hours

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