Energy and Environmental Advisor – RPU

Energy and Environmental Advisor

2 open positions

Rochester Public Utilities

www.rpu.org

Open positions include:

1 Full-time, Regular Opportunity and

1 Full-time, Limited Term Appointment

This position anticipated for one year from the date of hire, and is contingent upon the availability of allocated funds, as well as favorable performance by the incumbent. When the need for additional staff ends, the position will be eliminated unless RPU chooses ongoing continuation.

RPU, a division of the City of Rochester, MN, is the largest municipal utility in the State of Minnesota. RPU serves over 57,000 electric customers and 41,000 water customers and has revenues nearing $161 million annually.

The City of Rochester is committed to a community where all members feel a sense of belonging. We commit to recognizing the diversity of our community members, listening to ALL voices and providing equitable services to create an inclusive place to live, play and work.

We believe EQUITY should be at the center of all our work. We strive to represent our community in our teammates, as we know that diverse and inclusive teams are more innovative, and have an empowering impact on the work, progress and culture of our community.

It takes us all working together

Nature of Work

The Energy and Environmental Advisor is an experienced and enthusiastic individual responsible for managing, with the commercial team, the energy service needs of over 5,000 key and commercial account customers. This position is engaged within our commercial community – acting in their best interests by providing energy consulting, innovative strategies and technologies, and project management that include responsibilities of energy efficiency design, new product development, selling conservation, proposal writing, contract negotiations, and supervising finances for energy projects.

Responsibilities also include managing the development, communication, and marketing of new and existing rates, energy services, conservation or Demand Side Management (DSM) initiatives, and renewables. These activities include: creating plans and budgets, rates, contracts, and special marketing. Work includes establishing, maintaining, and ensuring the appropriate interfaces with other businesses, trade allies, and administrative resources are in place to deliver the needed market research, communications, and regulatory and public affairs support to meet marketing goals and objectives.

To have your application reviewed with the first round of applications, please submit your application prior to August 15, 2024.

2024 starting salary is $99,041 to $116,519 per year, depending on qualifications, with advancement to $145,648.

Duties And Responsibilities

The work below is representative of the scope of work performed within this job classification. Work performed is in cooperation with RPU leadership, the commercial team, and/or in conjunction with other City employees, operating partners, community groups and other public and private organizations. Individual job duties will vary based on work assignment. *Utilize technologies, energy acumen, and utility programs. Become a participation stakeholder. Perform other duties as assigned or necessary.

• Engage customers and advocate for their needs.
• Directly responsible for assisting customers (both residential and commercial) and vendors with and/or handling the activities required with the interconnection process which may include application review, permitting, inspections, contract execution, project research, and compilation and presentation of analysis to both internal and external stakeholders.
• Lead community, vendors, and customer relationships throughout the interconnection process and work cross-departmentally with teams at every stage of development to help successfully reach project and goal completion.
• Coordinate and maintain software platforms used to connect, schedule, aggregate and manage the operation of all types of distributed energy resources (DERs) on the utility’s system, which includes direct load control for renewables, EVs, battery storage, and thermostat programs.
• Be a single point of contact for industrial and large as well as small to medium commercial accounts. Connect customers to innovative technology or solutions including advocating with regulatory agencies as needed to suggest new approaches to increasing documented savings for the RPU CIP program and the customer.
• Manage the development of assigned accounts to maximize efficiency and growth potential, create and enhance relationships with customer’s decision makers and operation personnel for improved trade relations with RPU.
• Participate in community and area economic development initiatives involving existing and prospective new customers in order to promote new opportunities in energy conservation.
• Actively engage in and support public events involving key and commercial account customers.
• Sponsor and communicate new technologies to key and commercial accounts. Promote “greener” generation (wind, solar, etc.) and energy savings techniques. Understand interconnecting to the electrical system, establish net metering or negotiate rate contracts for systems over 40kW, and agreements.
• Maintain attention to the unique needs of customers’ business and their technologies in order to offer energy management advice and resources with a focus on operations, financial status, organizational structure/culture, market, industry trends, events and occurrences that affect the customer. Ensure data accuracy, completeness, and timeliness in updating customer profiles.
• Maintain expertise in the changing landscape and with that knowledge, help design and implement Demand Side Management (DSM) and non-DSM programs to assist all customer accounts.
• Assist commercial customers in identifying and pursuing rebates through energy use analysis, and measurement and verification.
• Assist RPU leadership in achieving regulated mandates such as the Eco Act Program goals as established by the State of Minnesota, along with DSM and DR activities.
• Represent RPU as an expert in evolving technologies in order to ensure the latest clean energy options are at the forefront of offerings to commercial customers.
• Develop and update Excel spreadsheets for power factor, energy audit analysis, custom rebate calculations, and other related types of work.
• Communicate improvements to customers to assist them in improving operations thru the proper application and control of existing equipment or utilizing new technologies or innovations.
• Participate in Triad (marketing effort with Austin and Owatonna Public Utilities) activities, which include co-development and implementation of conservation programs that can be utilized in the three communities and looking for cost sharing opportunities.
• Read, know, and understand applicable codes, federal programs and industry-specific guidelines, journals, and related reports to determine program requirements and recent developments in energy conservation techniques.
• Be an active member of such groups as ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, Air-Conditioning Engineers), a service club, and participate, as needed, in groups such as the Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTs). Promote Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) building development and remodeling.
• Demonstrate leadership in the area of safety. This requires observing and enforcing safety rules and practices, encouraging safe work behaviors and promptly correcting conditions and unsafe behaviors that may lead to accidents.
• Essential Duties

Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in business administration, marketing, economics or electrical/mechanical engineering from an accredited institution or a closely related field of study; AND three (3) years of progressively responsible experience in application engineering, energy marketing, energy engineering, energy management or energy auditing, or as an account manager for industrial/commercial customers.

An equivalent combination of education, experience, and related certifications to successfully perform the essential duties of the job may also be considered

Licenses and/or Certifications

Valid Minnesota driver’s license

Certified Energy Manager (CEM), or the ability to obtain within an agreed upon time frame.

Desirable Qualifications

Business Energy Professional (BEP) certification

Experience or familiarity of electric, water, gas and/or communications utility companies.

Additional Information

The Energy and Environmental Advisor will support RPU’s mission and vision that puts the customer first in all that we do. We all play a key role in the decisions we make and the support we provide. We understand how we act individually to serve customers and how we work together to create the best experience and provide the most value for RPU customers.

Our Mission: We provide the highest quality services and products for our customers. With our experience and resources, we enrich people’s lives, help businesses prosper, and promote the community’s welfare.

Our Vision: We Will Set the Standard for Service

Our Core Values: Safety, Integrity, Service, Stewardship, Accountability, and Skill.

Knowledge, Skills And Abilities

Knowledge of: principles and practices of customer service that supports the establishment of strong interpersonal relationships; utility energy conservation programs and techniques; engineering principles particularly as they apply to resource and energy engineering analysis, commercial/industrial operations and building HVAC and lighting systems; electric and water distribution systems; electric utility economics and demand-side management for commercial and industrial applications; energy codes, mechanical applications and renewable installations; energy resource management; various energy equipment, products, and services; budgetary principles and practices; modern business computer operations and applications including input, maintenance, retrieval, and transfer of information using word processing, spreadsheet, database, and presentation programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint; and modern communication technologies and media including cell phone, pager, email, and internet utilization.

Skill in: the proficient use of Microsoft Office applications; performing complex, mathematical calculations; providing excellent customer service; creating and maintaining spreadsheets and databases; achieving a high-level of proficiency and expertise in when working with various routine and specialized software applications; the coordination of multiple projects simultaneously; offering suggested improvements in the processes and procedures used to complete projects.

Ability to: proficiently utilize modern business computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint; perform moderately complex engineering and technical calculations; read and interpret contracts, financial data, utility rates and billing, and building plans; perform quantitative analyses of commercial/industrial facilities; comprehend and analyze technical issues from the utility and customer perspective; reach sound conclusions and make appropriate and reasonable recommendations; organize data for analysis and presentation to staff and customers; communicate clearly and effectively both orally and in writing, by using correct English grammar, spelling, and punctuation; effectively present information to a group of people; negotiate cost-effective and mutually acceptable agreement terms; interpret state and federal regulations and assess impacts on utilities and customers; establish and maintain tactful, courteous, and effective working relationships with internal departments, customers, and the public; work in a team-based environment and achieve common goals; and handle multiple priorities, organize workload, and meet deadlines.

PHYSICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the following represents the physical and environmental demands for this position. The employee must be able to perform the essential functions with or without accommodation.

In consideration of the overall amount of physical effort required to perform this position, the work is best described as: Sedentary Work : Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time. Jobs are sedentary if walking and standing are required only occasionally and all other sedentary criteria are met.

Physical demands that may be required continuously (2/3 or more of the time), frequently (1/3 to 2/3 of the time), and occasionally (up to 1/3 of the time) are noted below:

Continuous demands: sitting, fine dexterity.

Frequent demands: standing, walking, reaching, and handling.

Occasional demands: lifting, carrying, pushing/pulling, kneeling, crouching, crawling, bending, twisting, climbing, balancing, and foot controls.

Sensory requirements necessary in the performance of the essential functions of this position include: sight, hearing, touch.

Environmental conditions that may exist in the performance of the essential functions of this job include: NONE (not substantially exposed to environmental conditions).