Relay Technician

cleco; New Iberia (LA); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Cleco is seeking an experienced electrical technician to maintain and troubleshoot protective relays, substations, and control systems across transmission and distribution facilities. You will work with SCADA, PLCs, and auto-transfer schemes, ensuring safety, reliability, and compliance with NERC standards.

The role involves field training, contractor supervision, and collaboration with engineering to support timely restoration and system efficiency.

Qualifications

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Two years vocational or technical training in Electrical Technology or related field preferred.
• 3-5+ years of related experience.
• Strong business acumen pertaining to electrical systems.

Responsibilities

• Maintain, diagnose, and correct problems in protective relays, substations, control circuits, and associated systems.
• Install and maintain auto-transfer schemes in distribution systems.
• Test and commission SCADA, PLCs, and relay-related equipment.
• Train field personnel and supervise contractors on substation projects.
• Provide status updates and communicate risks to supervisors.

Skills

Electrical technology

Relay testing

SCADA systems

PLC programming

Substation equipment

Education

High School Diploma

Two years vocational/technical training in Electrical Technology

Tools

Test equipment

Job description

At Cleco, we're not just powering lives-we're powering a cleaner, smarter future for Louisiana. With bold investments in innovative energy solutions, we're transforming how we power our communities: smarter, cleaner, and more sustainable. This is a long-term commitment to our people and our communities because our future-and the future of generations to come-depends on it. If you're ready to make an impact where it matters most, join us at Cleco- where we're Energizing Your Tomorrow.

Key Responsibilities

• Champions a corporate culture that emphasizes transparency, integrity, safety, environmental responsibility, employee development, diversity and inclusion, customer service, and operational excellence.
• Responsible for maintaining, diagnosing, and correcting problems to all protective relays, substations, control circuits, supervisory controls, and battery systems in distribution, transmission and generation facilities.
• Constructs, installs and maintains auto-transfer schemes in distribution system.
• Performs the installation, wiring and checkout of all protective relaying and associated control systems in transmission, distribution and generation stations.
• Performs periodic testing and functional operation of protection systems in accordance with North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) mandate.
• Maintains relay carrier equipment such as wavetraps and line tuners.
• Diagnoses and corrects problems in equipment such as power circuit breakers, transformers, and fault/disturbance recorders in a manner that is not disruptive to the regional power grid.
• Installs and maintains battery systems and chargers in transmission substations.
• Installs, maintains, and troubleshoots both Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)-based and solid state transfer switches and sectionalizing switch automatic controls as well as the associated motor operators. Also required to train field personnel in the proper operation and testing of these devices.
• Maintains SAP Equipment Maintenance database used for keeping accurate and concise historical records of transmission equipment.
• Develop relay testing programs, Distribution Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (DSCADA) programs, carrier system programs, transmission and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) programs, and PLCs which controls Capacitor Banks, Load Tap Changers (LTCs), and Breaker reclosing.
• Performs testing on SCADA Systems, carrier systems, CCVTs, Transformers, Current Transformers (CTs), PTs, wave traps, Automatic Transfer Switch (ATS) schemes, power plant SCADA and generation relaying, battery sets, capacitor banks and controls, PLCs, and regulators.
• Serves as a member of scheduled call-out to ensure timely restoration of service.
• Connects test apparatus to troubled circuit.
• Analyzes test results and interprets electrical diagrams to locate defective relay.
• Opens and closes switches to isolate defective relay and makes adjustments or removes relay for repair.
• Tests circuit and equipment to evaluate such factors as insulation quality, which affect function of relays.
• Analyzes test data to determine performance characteristics of relays and effect of system modifications on relay performance.
• Assist entry-level staff, leveraging technical experience to help to onboard them and in support of meeting milestones.
• Supervise contractors in construction of substations and assist engineering with design.
• Provide communication to supervisor to provide status updates on work, and identify risks in delivery or resourcing needs.
• Responsible for operating as the experienced technical staff member amongst the Relay Technicians to execute through defined objectives, milestones and priorities in the short-term according to established plans and supervisor guidance.
• Uses existing procedures to solve routine or standard problems, analyzes information and standard practices to make judgments.

Qualifications

Required Education, Skills & Experience

• High School Diploma or equivalent
• Two years vocational or technical training in Electrical Technology or related field preferred.
• 3-5+ years of related experience
• Strong business acumen pertainin