Job Details
Sector(s)
Project development; Operations & Maintenance
Median Pay
$57,727,760–$86,074 per year
$26.31–$41.38 per hour
Job Type
Mid-Level
Typical Entry-Level Education and Work Experience Requirements
Bachelor’s degree, several years of relevant experience
Position Title
Public Utilities Specialist
Alternate Titles
Wholesale power contract specialist, wholesale power contract analyst, and power marketer
Job Description
Public utilities specialists write contracts that allow utilities to buy, sell, or interchange electricity. They often negotiate with government agencies, power purchasers, and other public and private utilities to get contracts approved.
Education and Training Description
Employers typically require public utilities specialists to have a bachelor’s degree in a marketing or a related financial field. Employers prefer applicants who have experience and coursework in legal writing and the energy industry.
Entry-level public utilities specialists often work under the supervision of more experienced public utilities specialists and assist in writing contracts. As public utilities specialists gain more experience, they can take on more responsibility in designing contracts and eventually supervise other public utilities specialists. Some employers may require public utilities specialists to acquire a relevant master's or law degree to advance within the career.
Job Profile
Public utilities specialists work for public or private utilities and write agreements to buy, sell, or interchange electricity, transmission service, and ancillary services. They write or update agreements with other public or private organizations, such as transmission utilities, power-producing utilities, and direct electricity consumers.
Public utilities specialists work with different people within their organization as well as groups outside of their organization to create contracts. They often work with financial managers, and legal teams (general counsel) within the utility to design contracts that benefit the utility financially. Externally, they frequently attend customer meetings to understand customer needs and maintain good relationships. After writing a power purchasing contract, public utilities specialists propose and negotiate the terms and conditions of contracts with government agencies, power purchasers, and other utilities to get contracts approved.
Public utilities specialists have an in-depth understanding of federal, state, and tribal energy contracting policies and regulations. They continually research new policies, regulations, market forecasts, and sales trends that will impact the utility’s power sales or future contracts and recommend actions and policies the utility can implement to adapt to changing policies and markets. Public utilities specialists also research the utility’s financials and understand best business practices to be able to negotiate contracts that are favorable to the financial needs and growth of the utility.
Public utilities specialists typically:
- Monitor and forecast marketing and sales trends
- Measure the effectiveness of marketing programs and strategies
- Analyze data using statistical software
- Convert complex data and findings into understandable tables, graphs, and written reports
- Write and negotiate contracts to sell utility produced energy to purchasers
- Ensure contracts follow relevant federal, state, and tribal policies and regulations
- Attend meetings with customers to maintain good relationships
- Present and defend amendments or original power marketing contracts to senior staff at federal, state, and tribal government organizations as well as other utilities
- Research new and proposed policies to understand how they will impact the utilities current and future power markets and contracts.
Job Skills
Public utilities specialists typically need:
- Reading and analysis skills. Public utilities specialists must be able to read technical policy and regulation documents and understand how to structure contracts to follow these policies and regulations. They also must be able to analyze economic forecasts to make informed decisions about future and long-term power sales agreements.
- Legal reading and writing skills. Public utilities specialists read and interpret legal documents, such as policies and regulations, to understand how those documents will impact existing and future agreements. Public utilities specialists also write technical documents (agreements and contracts) describing how utilities will buy or sell their energy to other organizations.
- Communication and persuasion Skills. Public utilities specialists must be able to work with and convince other organizations to accept the terms of their contracts.
More Information
For more information on public utilities specialist jobs, see: