Electric Supply Manager

Ford Motor Company • Dearborn, MI

10d • $115,500 - $218,100 • Hybrid

About The Position

This position serves as the company’s primary subject matter expert for electricity procurement, utility delivery systems, rate structures, power quality, and regulatory issues. The manager will work closely with utilities, suppliers, operations teams, finance, legal counsel, public service commissions, and other internal and external stakeholders to improve reliability, reduce costs, manage risk, and support business continuity. The Electricity Programs Manager is responsible for developing, procuring, managing, and optimizing electricity supply programs for manufacturing and commercial facilities across North America, including the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with support for South America as needed. This role ensures reliable, high-quality electricity service at the best overall value by leading utility relationships, supply strategy, regulatory engagement, contract negotiations, power quality initiatives, and cost-management programs.

Requirements

• Lead evaluation of capabilities of utilities to supply energy reliably to Company plants and facilities.
• Direct existing suppliers in the improvement of supply reliability and quality.
• Negotiate changes to utility transmission and distribution systems, which improve power quality at our plants.
• Advocate changes to the utility operating procedures, both with the local utility and at state public service commissions, which would improve power quality and reliability.
• Lead utility outage restoration and investigations to company plants and facilities.
• Conduit between site and utility provider to ensure transparent communication and timely restoration of site utility.
• Complete 8D investigation reports to discover root cause and preventative actions are completed.
• Recommend Company positions on energy legislation at the state and federal levels.
• Testify, when appropriate, before state and federal legislatures and agencies to support improvements in reliability and reduction in costs.
• Direct the Company’s participation in utility user consortiums, intervening before state and federal commissions and other governmental agencies on utility rate structures and other proceedings.
• Testify in commission proceedings as appropriate.
• Negotiate and obtain approval for contracts for competitive components of electricity involving the Office of the General Counsel and other staffs as appropriate.
• Follow price trends actively in each market for each commodity and develop strategies for minimizing prices and protecting against volatility.
• Initiate new utility contracts when a change in rate structure would be beneficial toward reducing costs and improving delivery reliability.
• Develop innovative supply plans, which will lower energy and utility costs directly, or provide negotiating leverage with the local utility through use of new and different engineering and business options.
• Conduct engineering studies and investigations of new or alternative energy supply systems.
• Recommend new rate structures to utilities or public service commissions that are cost based and accommodate unique operating characteristics of Ford facilities.
• Develop electricity commodity procurement strategies and plans.
• Identify and qualify suppliers of electricity.
• Issue request for proposals, negotiate electricity commodity prices, terms and conditions, award contracts and act as primary company contact with suppliers.
• Establish metrics for electrical cost and usage, compile and maintain the database for energy management and report progress to management quarterly.
• Provide projections on future electrical costs for Company’s financial areas.
• Anticipate changes in utility rates and recommend alternate measures to contain costs.
• Provide expert assistance to Operations and other Staffs in the area of utility costs, power generation equipment, utility delivery systems and power quality.
• Investigate new programs and projects in their early stages for compliance with available energy resources.
• Obtain energy supplies and provide expertise in generation equipment and power quality for supplier firms, as required.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working with regulated utilities, public service commissions, energy suppliers, and cross-functional corporate stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to develop electricity procurement strategies, manage commodity price risk, and evaluate alternative energy supply options.
• Must have an engineering knowledge of utility transmission and distribution systems as well as generation and co-generation systems and to use that knowledge to create alternatives, which provide leverage to reduce Company costs.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to present technical, financial, and regulatory information to leadership audiences.
• Utility contract negotiation and supplier management.
• Power quality, reliability, and outage response leadership.
• Regulatory strategy and legislative advocacy.
• Financial analysis, cost forecasting, and rate-structure evaluation.
• Cross-functional collaboration with operations, finance, legal, and engineering teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead evaluation of capabilities of utilities to supply energy reliably to Company plants and facilities.
• Direct existing suppliers in the improvement of supply reliability and quality.
• Negotiate changes to utility transmission and distribution systems, which improve power quality at our plants.
• Advocate changes to the utility operating procedures, both with the local utility and at state public service commissions, which would improve power quality and reliability.
• Lead utility outage restoration and investigations to company plants and facilities.
• Conduit between site and utility provider to ensure transparent communication and timely restoration of site utility.
• Complete 8D investigation reports to discover root cause and preventative actions are completed.
• Recommend Company positions on energy legislation at the state and federal levels.
• Testify, when appropriate, before state and federal legislatures and agencies to support improvements in reliability and reduction in costs.
• Direct the Company’s participation in utility user consortiums, intervening before state and federal commissions and other governmental agencies on utility rate structures and other proceedings.
• Testify in commission proceedings as appropriate.
• Negotiate and obtain approval for contracts for competitive components of electricity involving the Office of the General Counsel and other staffs as appropriate.
• Follow price trends actively in each market for each commodity and develop strategies for minimizing prices and protecting against volatility.
• Initiate new utility contracts when a change in rate structure would be beneficial toward reducing costs and improving delivery reliability.
• Develop innovative supply plans, which will lower energy and utility costs directly, or provide negotiating leverage with the local utility through use of new and different engineering and business options.
• Conduct engineering studies and investigations of new or alternative energy supply systems.
• Recommend new rate structures to utilities or public service commissions that are cost based and accommodate unique operating characteristics of Ford facilities.
• Develop electricity commodity procurement strategies and plans.
• Identify and qualify suppliers of electricity.
• Issue request for proposals, negotiate electricity commodity prices, terms and conditions, award contracts and act as primary company contact with suppliers.
• Establish metrics for electrical cost and usage, compile and maintain the database for energy management and report progress to management quarterly.
• Provide projections on future electrical costs for Company’s financial areas.
• Anticipate changes in utility rates and recommend alternate measures to contain costs.
• Provide expert assistance to Operations and other Staffs in the area of utility costs, power generation equipment, utility delivery systems and power quality.
• Investigate new programs and projects in their early stages for compliance with available energy resources.
• Obtain energy supplies and provide expertise in generation equipment and power quality for supplier firms, as required.

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage.
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more.
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more.
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases.
• Tuition assistance.
• Established and active employee resource groups.
• Paid time off for individual and team community service.
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager
• Education Level: No Education Listed