Job Details
Sector(s)
Operations & Maintenance
Median Pay
$63,920 per year
$30.76 per hour
Job Type
Mid-Level
Typical Entry-Level Education and Work Experience Requirements
Bachelor's degree required; 2-4 years of experience required
Position Title
Power Scheduler
Alternate Titles
Power trader
Job Description
Power schedulers work for utilities, selling and purchasing power in a cost-effective way, both in real-time and a day ahead based on the hourly fluctuations in the power market.
Education and Training Description
Power schedulers typically need a degree in economics, finance, business, engineering, or a related field with 2 or more years of experience as an assistant power scheduler or in bulk-power operations. Some candidates can become power schedulers with an associate’s degree plus 3 or more years of experience in bulk-power operations (e.g., an assistant power scheduler or a hydropower plant operator). Employers prefer to hire candidates with an understanding of local, regional, and national scheduling markets, policies, and procedures relevant to the location of the position. They may also prefer to hire candidates who have completed scheduling trainings required by the local or regional power scheduling department.
Job Profile
Power schedulers work for both public and private utilities, buying and selling power to meet customer demand. They review historical load patterns that indicate how much power customers have typically demanded on specific times, dates, and weather conditions to determine how they plan their day-ahead purchases and sales. They also assess the current market conditions, such as customer demand, the availability of electricity to meet the demand, and the cost to produce that electricity. These market conditions determine how a power scheduler buys and sells power on an hourly basis. Power schedulers then use these historical load patterns and market conditions to buy and sell power in the most cost-effective way.
Power schedulers also buy and sell power based on existing rules, regulations, and contracts. They make sure that utilities always meet the applicable utility guidelines, policies, and procedures that regulate power scheduling, such as the North American Electric Reliability Corporation standards. They also schedule power purchases and sales to comply with the requirements and limitations of the generating units the utility operates, contracts that specify power generation and purchasing requirements, real-time market pricing, and prescheduled transmission pricing.
Power schedulers may work alone with limited interaction with coworkers, and they may work long, 12-hour shifts that sometimes land on weekends and holidays. As power schedulers become more experienced, they may train assistant power schedulers or manage other power schedulers.
Power schedulers typically:
- Review historical load patterns and market conditions to plan power purchases and sales for the next day
- Adjust purchases and sales hourly based on real-time marketplace pricing
- Make purchases and sales that comply with all applicable regulations, generation requirements, contracts, and other agreements
- Make the most cost-effective power purchases and sales for the utility
- Reserve transmission capacity to transmit bought or sold electricity
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records of energy and transmission transactions
- Design and implement strategies to expand a utility’s presence in the power market
- Train assistant power schedulers.
Job Skills
Power schedulers typically need:
- Analysis skills. Power schedulers must assess all available information (load data, market trends, policies, and regulations) and use it to determine what sales and purchases will best serve the utility and customers.
- Math skills. Power schedulers must be able to perform basic math functions as they analyze available data and make power purchases.
- Decision-making skills. A primary role of power schedulers is to make purchase and sales decisions on a day-to-day and hourly basis.
More Information
For more information on power scheduler jobs, see: KYOS: What Is Power Scheduling?