Mgr, Interconnections Planning & Policy

Southern Company • Atlanta, GA

1d

About The Position

The Manager, Interconnections Planning & Policy is a strategic leadership role responsible for end-to-end integration of generation onto the Georgia Power system, including distribution- and transmission-connected resources across technologies such as gas, renewables, and battery storage. The role leads people managers and technical subject matter experts to develop solutions that enable safe, reliable, affordable, and timely grid interconnections, while ensuring compliance with federal and state regulatory policies and engaging regulators, developers, and other stakeholders.

The manager is accountable for Georgia Power’s interconnection policies, processes, and execution, coordinating across Southern Company functions including Transmission, Distribution, Generation, Renewables, Resource Planning, Policy & Services, Compliance, Operations, Legal, and Customer organizations. For transmission work, the role has direct responsibility for project origination and partnerships with other Transmission teams, including capital budget approvals from initial scoping through commercial operation, final design, construction support, and closeout accounting.

The position provides strategy and direction for transmission and distribution interconnections, supports alignment with large-load interconnection processes, and leads policy and stakeholder engagement. It represents Georgia Power and Southern Company with customers, regulators, industry groups, and other external stakeholders, and supports regulatory proceedings and legislative issues as needed. The role drives continuous improvement and grid readiness while balancing growth with safety, reliability, affordability, customer satisfaction, and compliance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Business, or a related field.
• 10 or more years of experience in the energy sector, utilities, infrastructure, or large-scale project delivery.
• 3 or more years of people leadership or team management experience.
• Demonstrated experience coordinating complex, enterprise-wide and cross-functional initiatives with significant safety and reliability implications.
• Strong understanding of transmission and distribution systems, grid operations, and generation interconnection processes and requirements.
• Strong focus on safety.
• Proven ability to lead teams, develop strategy, and execute in a highly regulated, safety-critical environment while balancing customer growth, grid reliability, and compliance.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to engage executives, technical teams, and external stakeholders.
• Ability to build consensus, manage conflict, and drive decisions across organizational boundaries.
• High judgment, accountability, and comfort operating with ambiguity during rapid growth.
• Creativity and strategy development; ability to lead evolving requirements, foster a learning culture, and work in a fast-changing environment.

Nice To Haves

• At least 2 years of experience as a leader of leaders.
• Experience with regulatory policies in the energy industry.
• Field experience in transmission and distribution.
• Experience or knowledge related to control and communication schemes, legal/contracts, DER capabilities, and regulatory policy.

Responsibilities

• Own generation interconnections strategy, governance, enterprise accountability, escalation paths, and readiness criteria.
• Lead cross-functional alignment and communication with Southern Company functions and external stakeholders to develop and execute end-to-end interconnection solutions that protect grid reliability.
• Set interconnections policy and process strategy to support compliant interconnection of generation assets and identify opportunities to integrate technologies and analytics into work practices.
• Identify and execute opportunities to improve timely, reliable, and accurate project solution identification and reduce delays and scope-change risks.
• Provide strategy and direction for transmission interconnections leadership, coordinating with partner organizations and keeping senior leaders and executives informed and engaged.
• Coordinate transmission-connected generation capacity procurements through project and interconnection lifecycle processes.
• Coordinate with large-load interconnection processes and project development to maintain consistency with transmission policies, engineering, and cost allocation methodologies.
• Provide strategy and direction for distribution interconnections leadership in coordination with partner organizations and senior leaders.
• Lead approaches to evaluate growing numbers and types of distributed energy resources, maintaining safety, reliability, cost, and customer satisfaction.
• Lead strategies addressing complexity in distribution interconnections, including battery storage, DERMS, inverters, customer controls, and behind-the-meter and customer DER programs.
• Represent Georgia Power and Southern Company professionally with customers, regulators, industry groups, and external stakeholders.
• Communicate and coordinate regularly with Georgia Power and Southern Company senior leaders, including executives.
• Own compliance and governance for interconnection projects, ensuring applicable company, regulatory, industry, planning, and operational requirements are met before energization; provide guidance on behalf of Georgia Power as needed.
• Provide regulatory support and develop relationships with the Georgia Public Service Commission, including Commissioners and Commission Staff, and participate in stakeholder activities such as the Distributed Generation Working Group.
• Serve as an interconnections subject matter expert for regulatory proceedings and legislative issues, including IRP and Rate Case filings when needed.
• Drive continuous improvement by identifying systemic gaps, lessons learned, and opportunities to strengthen grid readiness and enable reliable, safe, and affordable growth.
• Demonstrate leadership behaviors emphasizing safety and integrity, teamwork, operational excellence, and customer and community focus.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Annual incentive awards for eligible employees
• Health, welfare, and retirement benefits
• The position may be eligible for additional compensation, such as an incentive program

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager