Energy Manager

Airgas•Houston, TX

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

Provide strategic and tactical energy management direction and support for the AMG business. Play a key role in developing and executing the AMG Power/Energy strategy and directly support the Director Energy Management. For matters related to decarbonization of energy usage, report directly to the Vice President, Production & Project Execution. This role is based in Houston, Texas, with a hybrid schedule. Monitor plant operations and energy consumption, analyze market data and forward price risk, and develop knowledge of ISO operations and cost drivers. Establish energy-efficiency and energy-reduction targets, manage energy-related contractual compliance, and maintain energy-cost systems, models, budgets, and reporting. Evaluate market and regulatory issues that affect energy costs and recommend hedging approaches. Implement demand-response and load-control opportunities; lead energy-purchase contract negotiations; and serve as a primary interface with energy suppliers while cooperating with local operating personnel. Procure zero-carbon energy and manage related renewable energy certificate retirements in alignment with Air Liquide guidelines. Coordinate third-party validation of carbon accounting for ECO-ORIGIN products sold in the U.S. and manage Scope 2 reporting according to Air Liquide group directives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business Finance, or Business Administration, or equivalent experience.
At least 7 years of experience and expertise in energy markets and the LI business model.
Understanding of North American electricity markets, including regulated and deregulated markets.
Understanding of the industrial gas business and the effects of electricity costs, volatility, and stability on the gas and liquid supply chain.
Analytical and conceptual ability to assimilate internal and external requirements in the context of market and regulatory requirements and take action to create value.
Ability to influence management and external parties through effective communication.
Working knowledge of commercial agreements and customer relations.
Good communication skills.
Excellent understanding of accounting principles and working knowledge of plant operating budgets.
Ability to collect and analyze data to develop and support action plans.
Ability to understand regulatory cost causation, rate classes in regulatory proceedings, allocation of costs to rate classes, and rate-design principles.
Ability to combine practical judgment with technical information and theories to produce sound, achievable outcomes.
Ability to grasp ideas quickly and use group dynamics to lead improvements in approaches to broad regulatory and structural energy issues.

Responsibilities

Provide strategic and tactical energy management direction and support for the AMG business.
Help develop and execute the AMG Power/Energy strategy and support the Director Energy Management.
Report directly to the Vice President, Production & Project Execution on energy-use decarbonization matters.
Monitor plant operations and understand operational characteristics and energy-consumption patterns.
Maintain and improve market-data collection and analysis to evaluate forward price risk; develop understanding of ISO operations and cost drivers.
Track and manage compliance with energy-related contractual commitments.
Establish and track energy-use efficiency targets and energy-reduction performance targets to offset capacity, transmission, and other fixed energy charges.
Maintain and improve systems for tracking energy costs and reporting to operations, finance, and management.
Create and maintain plant energy-cost models accounting for energy, capacity, transmission, ancillary, margin, and other costs.
Monitor ISO-level issues affecting Airgas costs and identify alternative ways to mitigate cost increases.
Develop understanding of utility cost allocation and rate design and participate in efforts to achieve fair rate design for Airgas facilities.
Follow legislative activity and utility rate cases or proposed changes in relevant U.S. markets that could affect AMG facilities.
Recommend physical or financial hedging to manage volatility in AMG electricity and natural-gas costs.
Prepare an annual energy-cost budget for air separation and liquid CO2 facilities.
Implement maximum potential participation in load control and other demand-response opportunities.
Lead negotiations for competitive, favorable energy-purchase contract terms.
Serve as a primary interface with energy suppliers on energy services and supply, and build cooperative relationships with local operating personnel.
Procure zero-carbon energy, including renewable or nuclear energy, and manage retirement of associated renewable energy certificates in accordance with Air Liquide corporate guidelines and Group Scope 2 reporting.
Work with a third-party auditor to validate carbon accounting for ECO-ORIGIN products sold in the U.S. market.
Manage Scope 2 reporting in accordance with Air Liquide group directives.

Benefits

Medical, dental, and vision plans.
Short-term and long-term disability insurance.
Life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance.
Employee Assistance Program.
Pre-tax commuter transportation benefit.
Paid parental leave, including up to 14 weeks of paid childbirth benefits.
Vacation, sick time, floating holidays, jury duty and funeral/bereavement leave, and paid holidays.
401(k) plan with company matching funds.
Tuition assistance or reimbursement.
Discounted college tuition for eligible employees’ dependents.
Airgas Scholarship Program for dependent children.
Benefits begin after 30 days of employment.