CONTROL ROOM MANAGER

JOB SUMMARY:

Provide leadership and direction to the work completed by the control room that ensures a safe working environment for service and construction crews, internal and contracted. Responsible for providing operational oversight of the transmission and distribution system including restoration to maintain reliable operation of the electrical grid. Develop programs, processes, and practices that expand services offered by the control room that improve reliability, resiliency, real time monitoring, and safety for field personnel. Responsible for overseeing, reviewing, training, directing, and implementing the expansion of control room capabilities and its staff.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Assist Chief Engineering and Systems Design Officer with establishing strategic goals, long-term objectives, and short-term priorities of the department.
• Develop and monitor control room departmental budgets.
• Oversee, monitor, and recommend departmental personnel management including hiring, discipline, and performance evaluation of assigned employees.
• Lead employees of the control room by communicating, coaching, and motivating.
• Provide direction, mentoring, and coaching to trainees, control room operators, and support personnel to maximize productivity and teamwork.
• Encourage employee growth and development in everyday work by providing learning opportunities and an environment that encourages growth.
• Plan, develop, and conduct comprehensive training programs that include scenario, remedial, and on the job training with Mapwise, OMS, SCADA, Tantalus, and NexTraq and other such programs for control center employees.
• Develop test scenarios to be utilized in training and requalifying control room operators.
• Minimize the scope and duration of scheduled/unscheduled outages by providing support for outage occurrences by balancing company and customer needs.
• Develop, present, and suggest new methods to operate the power system more effectively and economically.
• On request, prepare technical reports to summarize system disturbances, and economic cost benefit analysis while detailing more efficient operating methods.
• Quarterly, analyze operating information to determine reliability indices. Compare power system reliability with forecast estimates and national standards. Review reports with executive team.
• Coordinate with the engineering department to develop and maintain alarm limit values in all systems for operational parameters that safely monitor the system. Annually review such values with the engineering department.
• Develop, train, implement, and maintain programs, processes, and procedures that expand services offered by the control center. These programs shall improve reliability, real time monitoring, and safety for field personnel. This list of suggestions will expand as the industry advances:
  • Real time monitoring of distribution and transmission system devices
  • Real time monitoring of power flow at delivery points and distribution substations
  • TALO and DERMS system events for demand response
  • Root cause analysis and sequence of events during outages
  • Load forecasting at system and sub-system level
  • Procedures during automation events
  • Continuous substation camera monitoring
  • Asset health/asset management
  • DMS/ADMS
  • Grid analytics
• Coordinate with the engineering department on system planning projects to meet system operating objectives of the control room through effective and safe implementation.
• Ability to maintain reliable, predictable, and reasonable attendance.
• Read one-line diagrams for distribution and transmission system.
• Write switching orders to re-configure the electrical system for balance, maintenance, and emergency response that meets lockout/tagout procedures as defined by the APPA safety manual
• Dispatch crews as needed.

ADDITIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Must maintain a valid driver's license from the state of residence.
• Must be available for after-hours work which would include working fair share of all necessary overtime.
• Assist in the Control Room during emergency situations.
• Maintain assigned vehicle.
• Perform role as on-call supervisor as scheduled on a rotating basis; available for call-in whenever needed.
• Perform other duties as requested or assigned by Administration.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• Ability to effectively manage change as the organization implements new procedures, processes, and programs.
• Ability to think ahead and plan within timelines and resources; develop scopes, plan, and schedule work; set priorities and goals; anticipate and adjust for problems; evaluate workloads; measure and evaluate performance against established goals.
• Ability to analyze problems and develop effective solutions at both strategic and functional levels.
• Must maintain competency in the study, design, construction, and operation of all aspects concerning the electric utility industry.
• Working knowledge of transmission and distribution relaying, breaker and recloser functions, distribution automation protection schemes, and FLISR.
• Broad technical background with extensive experience in distribution engineering, system analysis, protective relay coordination, programming, and troubleshooting.
• Must be able to read, interpret, and convey details of schematic diagrams.
• Ability to distinguish full range of colors in order to be successful with completing duties involving the use of computer displays to monitor color-coded diagrams.
• Must have a good geographical knowledge of the service area.
• Must be able to communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Knowledge of modern training and safety practices.
• Proficient with Microsoft office products, WindMil, LightTable, AutoCAD, and all BrightRidge in-house programs used by the Control Room which include but are not limited to: SCADA, OMS, Tantalus, MDM, Mapwise, and Nextraq.
• Willing to take additional training as needed.
• Demonstrate behavior consistent with BrightRidge's culture in the spirit and core values of technical competency, respect and dignity, accountability, integrity, trustworthiness, and servant leadership to empower or otherwise enable others to optimally perform their job responsibilities.
• Demonstrate and promote ethics and behaviors consistent with BrightRidge's culture, Board policies, and business practices. Understand and fulfill the role and responsibility for all compliance.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:

The position requires constant vision and sitting. Frequent handling, talking, hearing, depth perception, and arm/hand machine control operation is required. Approximately 10% of this position's time is spent outside observing and studying operations of utility personnel to improve functions of the control room. Employee may be required to ambulate on uneven terrain.

WORKING CONDITIONS:

Generally, work is performed in an indoor temperature-controlled office environment with appropriate lighting.

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering or similar degree required with an advanced degree preferred.
• 5 to 7 years of electric utility experience with a significant background in distribution engineering that includes progressively responsible engineering, operations, planning, and design knowledge.
• Demonstrated leadership abilities managing teams of diverse skill sets with experience developing team competency.
• Excellent oral and written communication, customer facing, people management skills.
• Comprehensive knowledge of electric utility responsibilities including engineering, operations, metering, customer service, accounting, and control center functions.

BrightRidge wishes to be in full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. In accordance with the Act, we will make reasonable accommodation to any person who needs such accommodation, whether a new hire or a current employee, assuming that the person is fully qualified for the position.

These essential job functions are not to be construed as a complete statement of all duties performed. Since jobs tend to change over time, Employees will be required to perform other job-related marginal duties as required without a formal update of the job description.