Energy Planning & Market Strategy Associate - Remote

Polar Consulting; Charlotte (NC); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental & vision insurance

HSA/FSA options

Discretionary performance bonus

20 days PTO

Job summary

Polar Consulting is seeking a Utility Planning & Market Strategy Associate to support IRP, power supply, and market strategy for municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, and small to mid-sized IOUs across the United States. The role emphasizes analysis of resource options, forecasting, and translating complex market insights into practical planning recommendations.

A 2+ year background in the electric utility or energy sector is expected, with strong Excel/PowerPoint and a related bachelor’s

Qualifications

• 2+ years of relevant professional experience in electric utility, energy, consulting, engineering, regulatory, RTO/ISO, generation development, transmission, or related sectors.
• Foundational understanding of the electric utility industry, including generation, transmission, wholesale power markets, utility regulation, or resource planning.
• Strong quantitative and analytical skills with the ability to organize and evaluate complex datasets.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint skills; experience developing financial, planning, engineering, or market-analysis models is beneficial.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain technical or market concepts to technical and non-technical audiences.
• Ability to manage multiple assignments, meet deadlines, collaborate effectively, and maintain strong attention to detail.
• Bachelor’s degree in economics, business, engineering, finance, public policy, data analytics, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Support integrated resource plans and long-term power supply strategies.
• Assist with load forecasts, resource portfolios, capacity positions, energy requirements, reserve margins, and future resource needs.
• Evaluate generation, storage, demand-side, transmission, market purchase, and other resource alternatives.
• Develop analytical workbooks, planning models, scenario inputs, and supporting datasets.
• Conduct scenario and sensitivity analyses around load growth, fuel and market prices, resource retirements, renewables, storage, electrification, large loads, and other planning uncertainties.
• Research wholesale energy, capacity, ancillary service, and transmission market developments.
• Analyze RTO/ISO market rules, resource accreditation, capacity constructs, interconnection processes, and transmission considerations.
• Evaluate market data, forward prices, utility filings, and RTO/ISO materials to support client recommendations.
• Translate market developments into clear implications for utility planning, resource strategy, emissions, and rates.
• Support RFPs and competitive solicitations for generation, storage, capacity, energy, renewable resources, and other utility supply needs.
• Assist with RFP materials, bidder communications, proposal intake, evaluation criteria, and process tracking.
• Develop tools to compare proposals across price, term, resource characteristics, development status, transmission/interconnection considerations, and risk.
• Support bid evaluations, shortlists, recommendations, and stakeholder presentations.
• Review regulatory filings, commission orders, utility planning requirements, legislation, market rules, and policy developments.
• Support regulatory filings, stakeholder materials, legislative analyses, and related deliverables.
• Assist with interpretation of generation interconnection, transmission planning, deliverability, and reliability studies.
• Prepare client presentations, technical memoranda, planning reports, and executive summaries.
• Participate in client meetings and collaborate with utility, engineering, legal, regulatory, market, sustainability, data, and technology specialists.

Skills

2+ years experience

Quantitative analysis

Strong written and verbal comms

Education

Bachelor’s degree in economics, business, engineering, finance, public policy, data analytics

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

PLEXOS

Aurora

PROMOD

Python

Julia

Job description

Polar Consulting is seeking a Utility Planning & Market Strategy Associate to support IRP, power supply, and market strategy for municipal utilities, electric cooperatives, and small to mid-sized IOUs across the United States. The role emphasizes analysis of resource options, forecasting, and translating complex market insights into practical planning recommendations.

A 2+ year background in the electric utility or energy sector is expected, with strong Excel/PowerPoint and a related bachelor’s