Director, Transmission Planning

Ameren•Saint Louis, MO

About The Position

The Director, Transmission Planning is responsible for determining the need, size, location and timing of transmission system development to address environmental, political and regulatory constraints and provide economic benefits to customers. Directs the engineering analysis and long-term planning of the Ameren transmission system to ensure compliance with applicable North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and other applicable reliability standards. The Director also ensures Transmission Planning provides timely technical analysis, scenarios, and system insights to support Ameren’s Integrated System Planning activities while maintaining clear accountability for transmission planning, reliability compliance, and transmission solution development.

Requirements

Bachelor of Science degree in engineering, mathematics or other technical discipline required.
Ten (10) years of electric utility industry experience or equivalent is required.
Five (5) years of people leadership experience in electric utilities or equivalent experience in managing a technical organization is required.
Ability to effectively lead technical organizations in adapting to rapidly changing business conditions.
Relationship building skills with ability to achieve results through collaboration and teamwork, including close coordination with adjacent strategy, resource planning, operations, regulatory, and project execution teams.
Ability to make sound decisions with incomplete information and under tight deadlines.

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in a technical discipline or business is preferred.
Professional Engineer (PE) certification, or capability to obtain certification, is preferred.

Responsibilities

Manage and direct a team of engineers and supervising engineers to perform steady-state, dynamic and economic analysis of the electric transmission system to maintain Ameren Missouri's, Ameren Illinois's, and Ameren Transmission Company's compliance with applicable NERC Standards and local planning criteria, and to identify and prioritize transmission projects that enhance value for customers.
Direct the annual Ameren Transmission Expansion Planning (ATEP) process and the incorporation of its results into the MISO Transmission Expansion Plan.
Manage the NERC compliance assessment of the Ameren transmission system as part of the ATEP process.
Research, develop and implement Ameren Transmission Planning Criteria and Guidelines to ensure continued electric system reliability and stability.
Develop transmission solutions for system modifications and enhancements to reliably serve local load, interconnect new generation, allow retirement of existing generation, and ensure overall reliability of the bulk electric system.
Coordinate closely with the Integrated System Planning team by providing transmission planning assumptions, technical analyses, sensitivities, and solution alternatives needed to inform integrated resource, transmission, and customer-focused planning decisions, while preserving Transmission Planning’s separate accountability for reliability standards, planning criteria, and transmission project identification.
Manage long-term Planning’s relationship with other Ameren groups to facilitate the overall transmission project process, including identification, scoping, cost estimating, scheduling, procurement, construction, regulatory support, and alignment with broader system planning objectives.
Direct the identification, research and analysis of potential competitive transmission project development opportunities within MISO, PJM RTO, and Southwest Power Pool (SPP) RTO.
Communicate and coordinate with external entities that have/seek interconnections with the Ameren transmission system as needed.
Establish and maintain effective relationships with RTO staff and Transmission Owners.
Provide input into the development of Ameren Transmission Policy positions, including policy matters that affect long-term transmission planning, regional planning, and integrated system planning outcomes.
Represent Ameren Transmission at Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO), industry associations, and other forums.
Coordinate Planning support transmission project filings at state regulatory agencies.