Trading Associate Analyst or Analyst

Xcel Energy•Denver, CO

3d•$84,900 - $138,600•Hybrid

About The Position

Xcel Energy is hiring a Trading Analyst or Associate Trading Analyst to perform quantitative analysis supporting wholesale energy commodity pricing, risk measurement and hedging, and economic operation of its power system portfolios. The role plans and optimizes resource commitment schedules and portfolio positions across seasonal, monthly, balance-of-month, and daily timeframes, and analyzes actual dispatch and system operations to identify efficiency improvements. The successful candidate will be placed at a level commensurate with their skills and experience; the Associate Trading Analyst role requires fewer skills and/or less experience than the Trading Analyst role. The position submits the company's bids and offers into organized markets and requires classification as a Wholesale Merchant Function. It supports trading, risk management, real-time operations, fuel planning, market analysis, and the optimization of generation and contractual resources. Xcel Energy supports a hybrid work model; many roles are expected onsite three days per week, Tuesday through Thursday, though expectations vary by role, team, and business needs.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in mathematics, engineering, applied sciences, or a related field.
For the Trading Analyst level: at least 4 years of experience operating mathematical models, data mining, and analytics.

Nice To Haves

Previous electricity-industry experience, including one year in energy commodity trading operations and knowledge of power plant operations.
At least one year of experience with generation cost modeling software such as Plexos, Aurora, Prosym, Promod, or Gentrader (Trading Analyst preference).
Power Operations experience in SPP, MISO, or another RTO.
Mechanical engineering background, or power plant operations experience combined with strong computer skills and analytical thinking.
At least six months of experience with generation cost modeling software such as Plexos, Aurora, Prosym, Promod, or Gentrader (Associate Trading Analyst preference).

Responsibilities

Design and perform quantitative studies of historical and forecast prices, system loads, fuel costs, and the natural positions of Xcel Energy power system portfolios.
Support trading and risk management by quantifying the natural position of each regulated operating company.
Troubleshoot daily operations of regulated electric operating companies and provide technical support to real-time traders.
Assist Fuels with forward fuel requirements and the daily gas nomination process.
Identify system-operation improvement opportunities and develop analytical studies to model them and determine costs or savings.
Help plant operations personnel understand market implications of operating decisions; assess power plant mechanical aspects and generation technology optionality, as well as electrical system constraints and operations.
Create and run scenarios to optimize daily unit commitment, additional purchases and sales, and long-term seasonal purchases involving energy-limited or constrained resources.
Evaluate short-term load forecasts, plant and contract availability, fuel costs, and market conditions to determine energy purchases and sales, scheduling of constrained resources, and plant and contract commitment decisions.
Submit bids for load and offers for generation into organized markets on behalf of the company.
Analyze prior-day operations to find dispatch-efficiency and purchase/sales improvements; benchmark models and verify sales costing and analysis results.
Continuously improve processes and analyses for commodity purchases and sales, contracted-resource scheduling, and commitment and dispatch of generation assets.
Price and cost Real-Time Pricing Program sales and wholesale sales.
Analyze and forecast market prices at trading points, research energy market trends and optimization techniques, stay current on regulatory requirements, and recommend strategies based on technical market analysis.