Manager, Energy Markets & Settlements - Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA)

IMEA is a wholesale electric supplier to 32 Illinois municipal electric systems with long-term contracts with its member utilities. Each of these communities owns and operates its own electric distribution system, with over half owning and operating local power generation plants. IMEA provides service to members through a combination of joint power plant ownership and long-term power supply agreements, as well as market-related energy and operational services. IMEA also manages a wholesale natural gas agency, the Illinois Public Energy Agency that serves 12 municipal gas systems and 2 cooperatives in the State of Illinois. IMEA also provides management services to the Illinois Municipal Utilities Association for 55 municipal utilities throughout the state as well. The three entities operate 24x7x365 and have a combined annual budget near $350 million all managed from our state-of-the-art facility in Springfield, Illinois.

General Responsibilities

This member of the Engineering and Markets Team is responsible for participating in stakeholder meetings in the wholesale regional transmission organizations of Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) and Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) markets. Develop short and long-term hedging strategies for the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA) and work with VP of Engineering & Energy Markets, Resource Planner and Operations Management to optimize IMEA’s resource and transmission positions in the Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) markets. Manage IMEA’s energy and transmission markets settlement activities and directly supervise the Financial Settlements Analyst. This position works closely with other members of the Senior Management Team. Reports to the Vice President of Engineering and Energy Markets.

Specific Responsibilities and Duties

• Participate and represent IMEA's interests in energy markets stakeholder groups and industry organizations in coordination with the IMEA Operations department to stay current on updated market rules, business practices and policy changes; analyze and communicate potential impacts on IMEA and its members.
• Identify, evaluate, and develop improved work practices and processes for IMEA portfolio centered around the RTO markets and coordinate implementation with VP of Engineering & Energy Markets, Resource Planner and Senior Management team.
• Manage wholesale energy settlement activities, oversee Financial Settlement Analyst and all aspects of RTO markets settlement activities in PJM and MISO.
• Develop strategies and provide recommendations to Senior Management related to state and federal regulatory, MISO and PJM market design, power supply topics such as energy, capacity, and transmission.
• Work in a team regarding strategic planning of the organization’s existing and future generation assets. Provide constructive feedback in the development of long-term energy portfolio strategies.
• Develop RTO (MISO and PJM) strategies and provide recommendations to Senior Management related to state and federal regulatory, market design and power supply topics.
• Build relationships and coalitions with other industry participants, federal regulators, and state/ national groups for RTO, Federal, legal, and regulatory activities.
• Manage and carry out the IMEA’s financial transmission and auction revenue rights (ARR/FTR) portfolio at PJM and MISO.
• Closely monitor the Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) market in general and manage IMEA’s RECs portfolio.
• Provide analysis to ensure compliance with approved risk management policy guidelines and procedures. Monitor trading activities to ensure compliance with the policies and procedures, identify and report non-compliance events and recommend measures to prevent non-compliance.
• Participate in and support market-based asset valuation studies, regional power market assessments, price and volatility analyses. Assess and implement controls, procedures and methodologies related to energy risk management.
• Develop and maintain forward market curves for the regions of operations; and research implementation rules and recommend alternative power supply strategies, such as Demand Side Management/ RTO Demand Response programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Economics, Engineering, Finance, Mathematics, Statistics or quantitative field and 5 years of relevant work experience, or equivalent combination of education and experience in commodities trading with energy trading preferred.
• Knowledge of commodity or economic principles
• Knowledge of and experience with regional transmission organizations preferred - specifically MISO and PJM
• Knowledge of energy operations and market instruments
• Demonstrated analytical skills
• Demonstrated software skills with computer spreadsheets and knowledge of databases
• Demonstrated management skills
• Ability to travel up to 10% of the time
• Basic analytical and mathematical skills
• Ability to organize and prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously
• Ability to lead and work well in a team-oriented environment
• Ability to take direction from and work well with people throughout the organization
• Resides in central Illinois or willing to relocate (not covered by IMEA)

IMEA offers highly competitive salaries and excellent benefits including an employer-funded retirement program and a family medical plan. Dental, vision, life insurance, long term care along with short and long-term disability benefits are also provided at no cost to the employee.

Send resume to thall@imea.org & join the IMEA team!

IMEA is an Equal Opportunity Employer