Expert Contract Management Analyst

Requisition ID # 153833 

Job Category: Legal 

Job Level: Individual Contributor

Business Unit: Energy Policy & Procurement

Work Type: Hybrid

Job Location: Oakland

Department Overview

PG&E’s Energy Policy and Procurement (EPP) organization procures electricity, capacity, and ancillary services to serve the needs of bundled electric customers 24 hours a day. EPP reduces customer costs and attain stable prices through contracting and financial hedging instruments and in doing so, maintain a focus on sustainability by supporting environmentally-preferred resources.

In addition, EPP procures natural gas, pipeline capacity, and storage capacity on behalf of residential and small commercial customers, and for both utility-owned and contracted third-party electric generation. EPP is responsible for the front office and back-office functions associated with power and gas procurement. Front-office functions entail planning, contracting, trading, scheduling, and dispatching electricity and natural gas for PG&E’s customers. Back-office functions entail administering procurement agreements and ensuring timely and accurate payments to the CAISO and third-party power and gas suppliers. EPP also actively participates in regulatory and legislative proceedings that shape the design and implementation of state, regional, and federal energy regulation and policy. In addition, EPP is responsible for long-term planning, risk management, and compliance functions related to PG&E’s energy portfolio.

EPP's Contract Management (CM) team ensures that PG&E and the parties who sell energy and capacity to PG&E remain compliant with all terms of their energy contract, both for contracts that are actively delivering energy and for new facilities under construction. The Contract Management team manages hundreds of procurement contracts related to renewable energy, conventional energy, combined heat and power, energy storage, natural gas and biogas, resource adequacy capacity products, renewable energy credits, and greenhouse gas allowances, as well as associated transmission and financial hedging agreements.

Position Summary

The ideal candidate for this position has considerable experience and understanding of renewable energy contracts, energy markets (including the California ISO), and the California regulatory environment. In addition, the ideal candidate will also have excellent written and oral communication skills, an aptitude for critical thinking, and strong detail-orientation.

The Expert Contract Management Analyst will be part of a team (RPS and CSA Contracts Team), responsible for managing PG&E’s contracts with third party generation facilities and for assisting with regulatory reporting requirements. The Expert Analyst will:

• Develop subject matter expertise with renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs);
• Work with internal and external parties to maximize the value of assigned contracts in the PG&E portfolio;
• Ensure that all necessary steps are taken for the facilities to deliver energy and/or capacity to PG&E in a manner consistent with the obligations of the agreement, market rules, and internal process;
• Ensure operation and administration of contracts is in accordance with all contract terms and conditions;
• Track and use contract information to support strategic decision making, and internal and external reporting;
• Interpret, analyze, communicate about issues and disputes that arise during contract administration, and put together recommendations to upper management for resolution;
• Develop and follow processes to ensure that contracts are managed efficiently, consistently, and in compliance with PG&E’s commitments under the contracts and its regulatory obligations;
• Track and use contract information to support strategic decision making, and internal and external reporting;
• Maximize benefits to internal stakeholders’ analysis and decision making by providing access to accurate contract information;
• And support regulatory efforts at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

This position is hybrid, working from your remote office and your assigned work location based on business need. The assigned work location is in Oakland, CA.

PG&E is providing the salary range that the company in good faith believes it might pay for this position at the time of the job posting. This compensation range is specific to the locality of the job. The actual salary paid to an individual will be based on multiple factors, including, but not limited to, specific skills, education, licenses or certifications, experience, market value, geographic location, and internal equity. Although we estimate the successful candidate hired into this role will be placed between the entry point and the middle of the range, the decision will be made on a case-by-case basis related to these factors.​ This job is also eligible to participate in PG&E’s discretionary incentive compensation programs. 

A reasonable salary range is:​

Bay Area Minimum: $109,000

Bay Area Maximum: $175,000

Job Responsibilities

The Expert Contract Management Analyst will be responsible for managing a portfolio of contracts for energy and capacity. Responsibilities will include:

• Contract Management – Analyst manages terms and conditions of assigned contracts including updating and maintaining the integrity of CM databases, CM SharePoint, Shared Drive, Documentum (D2) and EPP document storage process. Also, Analyst will report on contract information, development status, and performance to internal parties at PG&E, and regulatory agencies such as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) and California Energy Commission.
• Contract Review - Assist with the review and management of power contracts and related documents, identifying critical information or patterns.  Examples of such work may include:  reviewing and providing feedback on contracts or amendments prior to execution; producing detailed summaries of the terms of contracts; identifying and resolving potential contractual issues and solutions; investigating contracts questions/issues raised by clients; performing numerical analyses of power contracts, such as forecasting generation and cost; and using and updating contract information systems as contract information changes.
• Enhance Communication / Teamwork – Analyst will work closely with other stakeholders in Energy Procurement and counsel. Work requires an understanding of the contracts and how transactions are evaluated. Analyst will be regularly required to communicate complex issues/disputes both written and verbal. Analyst will be responsible for working with all levels within the organization including counsel and upper management. Examples of such work may include responding to client inquiries regarding contract specifics; working with settlements, credit, and scheduling teams as projects approach their online date; providing notification and information about changes in contracts and contract operations to affected stakeholders; and researching contract terms or industry laws, regulations, rules and practices as they relate to power contracts.
• Analyst is expected to 1) act as subject matter expert and program lead for Contract Management, including for renewable contracts and associated ongoing issues, disputes, and regulatory reporting, 2) take the lead in working with management and counsel on supporting the various issues in the portfolio 3) lead and respond to ad-hoc requests, 4) provide leadership to the immediate team at the peer level.
• Provide input to and/or monitor regulatory proceedings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the CPUC, as necessary, including the CPUC proceeding where PG&E’s power contracts’ contract administration is reviewed for compliance (the Energy Resource Recovery Account (ERRA) Compliance Review) and other proceedings as they affect contract administration. In addition, ensure that power contracts comply with regulatory and legal requirements.
• Provide back-up support for other members of the Contract Management team to ensure smooth operation of team.  Perform other duties that may be assigned from time to time.
• Demonstrate Critical Thinking and Accountability to ensure that necessary steps are taken to address and resolve issues. Constantly look for ways to improve contract management processes, tools, systems, and reporting.

Qualifications

Minimum:

• BA/BS in business, economics, engineering, legal, environmental policy, related field; or equivalent work experience
• 5 years of relevant work experience

Desired:

• Familiarity with energy procurement contracts.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Experience in representing PG&E in contract reporting/data-related discussions with regulators (CPUC, CEC, FERC); utilizing knowledge of contract data to clarify requests and propose solutions to outstanding issues.
• Ability to understand and analyze complex documents, ability to formulate logical approaches and make effective recommendations to address complex issues.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; ability to clearly and concisely express information to wide range of persons including non-technical associates, junior staff, peers and Executive Management (writing samples may be required). 
• Familiarity with various regulatory and reporting systems and agencies.
• Familiarity with gas or electric energy markets and regulatory environment.
• Demonstrated experience using MS Access.
• General knowledge of commercial and contract terms.
• Relevant experience working with energy contracts.
• 5+ years of relevant utility industry experience or regulatory experience.
• Familiarity with generation project development, including financing, permitting, transmission, interconnection, and various regulatory and reporting systems and agencies.
• Ability to perform at a high level in a matrixed organization, working in inter-departmental teams to achieve objectives.
• Familiarity with database management.
• An intermediate level proficiency with MS Office Suite (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint)