Public Utilities Director Of Utility Regulation

Connecticut's Public Utilities Regulation Authority (PURA) is seeking a Public Utilities Director of Utility Regulation!

This is an exciting opportunity for a seasoned professional to shape the future of utility regulation and contribute to the advancement of public policy goals in clean energy and utility infrastructure. If you're passionate about driving impactful change in the energy sector, we encourage you to apply and be part of our dedicated team at PURA.

WHAT WE CAN OFFER YOU:

• Visit our new State Employee Benefits Overview page!
• The opportunity to work for a Forbes top company: 'Forbes' State of Connecticut Ranked One of the Best Employers of 2023 - State of CT Receives National Recognition for Offering Job Growth, Competitive Benefits, and Flexible Schedule
• Professional growth and development opportunities
• A healthy work/life balance to all employees

Our state has a lot to offer - from fun activities for all ages, to great food and shopping, to beautiful state parks and forests, to our diverse cultures and rich history. Connecticut is a great place to live! Learn more about Connecticut here.

POSITION HIGHLIGHTS

The position will be hybrid with in-office attendance located at Ten Franklin Square, New Britain, CT, and are 40 hours per week, Monday - Friday, between the hours of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

YOUR ROLE

Connecticut’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) is seeking a dynamic leader to join its senior leadership team as the Director of Utility Regulation, heading the Office of Technical and Regulatory Analysis (TRA). The TRA is the technical lead on all formal investigations ("dockets") conducted by the Authority. Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Evaluating and implementing new regulatory and statutory programs and frameworks, such as performance-based regulation
• Designing and implementing multiple clean energy programs including, renewable energy deployment, electric vehicle charging, battery storage, and innovation pilots in pursuit of Connecticut’s climate and clean energy policy goals
• Implementing public policies to advance the state's, reliability, resilience, and cybersecurity goals
• Conducting comprehensive reviews of electric, gas, and water rates
• Promoting energy affordability
• Overseeing utility infrastructure investments and improvements, including programs developed under PURA’s Equitable Modern Grid Framework

The Director will manage a team comprising one program manager, six supervisors, and a larger staff of approximately 30 individuals. The supervisors lead the following units within TRA:

• Clean and Affordable Energy Unit
• Utility Performance and Analysis Unit
• Revenue Requirements Unit
• Reliability, Security, Resilience Unit
• Gas Pipeline Safety Unit
• Strategy and Operations Unit

While the supervisors handle day-to-day management of their respective units, the Director will provide strategic direction for the office, collaborate with senior leadership to further the Authority’s mission and offer policy and technical support to the chairperson and other commissioners.

More details can be found in the class specification.

ABOUT US

PURA is divided into multiple offices, each of which specialize in the execution of different portions of PURA’s broad statutory authority and mission statement to ensure safe, adequate, and reliable utility service at reasonable rates. PURA is responsible for regulating the many aspects of Connecticut's utility sectors, which can be categorized into three key buckets:

1. Innovation

a. Pursuing the prudent and innovative modernization of the electric, natural gas, and water systems through regulatory reform.

2. Sustainability

a. Directing the design and implementation of multiple clean energy programs including, renewable energy deployment, electric vehicle charging, battery storage, and innovation pilots in pursuit of Connecticut’s climate and energy policy goals; and

b. Coordinating with diverse stakeholders including utilities, other state agencies, community advocates, environmental groups, developers, private industry, and citizens to ensure equitable and affordable access to all programs and services.

3. Accountability

a. Ensuring that the utilities charge only fair and equitable rates;

b. Implementing performance-based regulation of the state’s utility companies;

c. Overseeing investment in the state’s utility infrastructure to promote service quality, reliability, and safety; and

d. Implementing federal requirements for natural gas pipeline safety

Learn more about what it's like to work for the State of Connecticut:

This is a competitive recruitment, open to the public.

For current state employees, salary calculations are not necessarily comparable from one of the three branches of state government (i.e. Executive, Legislative, Judicial) to the other.

TO APPLY:

• In order to be considered for this job opening, you must meet the Minimum Qualifications as listed on this job opening. You must specify your qualifications on your application.
• The minimum experience and training requirements must be met by the close date on the job opening, unless otherwise specified.
• Ensure that your application is complete and detailed before submitting it. In order to comply with Public Act 21-69, the State of Connecticut is no longer asking for resumes during the initial application process. You will not be able to make revisions once your application is submitted into the JobAps system.
• Please select all location(s) and shift(s) you are willing to work on your application. Failure to do so may result in not being considered for vacancies in that specific location or shift.
• In order to receive educational credits toward qualification for this job posting, the institution must be accredited. If the institution of higher learning is located outside of the U.S., you are responsible for providing documentation from a recognized USA accrediting service which specializes in determining foreign education equivalencies to the recruiter listed on this job posting.
• All application materials must be received by the recruiting agency by the time specified on the job opening for the position for which you are applying. Late applications may not be submitted and will not be considered. Exceptions are rare and limited to documented events that incapacitate a candidate during the entire duration of the job posting time period. It is the candidate’s obligation and responsibility to request an exception and provide a legally recognized justification to accommodate such exception. Requests should be made to DAS.SHRM@ct.gov.

FOR ASSISTANCE IN APPLYING:

• Please read or watch our Applicant Tips on How to Apply!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AFTER YOU APPLY:

• This posting may require completion of additional referral questions (RQs). You can access these RQs via an email that will be sent to you after the posting's closing date or by visiting your JobAps Personal Status Board (Certification Questionnaires section). Your responses to these RQs must be submitted by the questionnaire's expiration date. Please regularly check your email and JobAps Personal Status Board for notifications. Please check your SPAM and/or Junk folders on a daily basis in the event an email provider places auto-notification emails in a user's spam.
• Although applicants will receive correspondence via email, as a backup they are also encouraged to sign on to their Personal Status Board on a daily basis to monitor their status, view all emailed notices and complete tasks required in the recruitment process.
• Note: At any point during the recruitment process, applicants may be required to submit additional documentation which support their qualification(s) for this position. These documents may include: a cover letter, resume, performance reviews, attendance records, supervisory references, licensure, etc., at the discretion of the hiring agency.
• Interviews will be limited to candidates whose experience and training most closely meet the requirements of the position.
• The immediate vacancy is listed above, however, applications to this recruitment may be used for future vacancies in this job class.
• Read through this helpful link to prepare for your interview.

CONNECT WITH US:

• Due to the large volume of applications received, we are unable to provide confirmation of receipt or status during the recruitment process. Updates will be available through your JobAps portal account. Should you have any questions pertaining to this recruitment, please contact Samantha.Rivera@CT.Gov
• Follow the State of Connecticut on LinkedIn.

In the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Public Utilities Regulatory Authority Operations Division this class is accountable for directing the activities of one or more groups of technical units.

• Considerable knowledge of
  • relevant state and federal laws, statutes and regulations;
  • relevant agency policies and procedures;
  • principles and practices of and technical matters pertaining to regulation of assigned areas in cable television, electric, gas, telecommunications and/or water; 
  • analytical techniques and computer modeling; 
• Knowledge of and ability to apply management principles and practices; 
• Considerable
  • interpersonal skills; 
  • oral and written communication skills;
• Ability to prepare and edit complex documents.

Two (2) years of experience in a supervisory capacity over professional staff engaged in public utility regulation. 

NOTE: Supervisory capacity is defined as scheduling, assigning, overseeing work and establishing performance standards for employees and taking corrective measures to implement those standards.

• An advanced degree in renewable energy, engineering, environmental studies, public policy, law, economics, or business administration.
• Work experience in utility regulation or utility management.
• Experience with energy policy, environmental justice, clean energy, electric grid technology, broadband deployment, or cybersecurity programs.
• Experience working on utility grid modernization initiatives, deployment of clean and renewable energy programs, or climate change policy.
• Experience writing technical reports, regulatory documents, white papers, position papers, policy papers, or academic articles for a general audience that provide conclusions or recommendations supported by documented evidence.
• Experience compiling legislative reports and drafting legislative testimony and comments on pending legislation
• Experience presenting materials, including analysis findings and recommendations, to executive level stakeholders.
• Experience conducting quantitative analysis using energy, financial, or economic datasets and synthesizing results.
• Experience working with requests for proposals (RFPs) including evaluating proposals, and advising on procurement strategies and vendor selection
• Experience with project management, working on 2 or more projects simultaneously, while adhering to deadlines.
• Experience with alternative and innovative approaches to modernizing utility regulation including performance-based regulation
• Experience leading long-term projects within a team setting
• Experience conducting performance reviews
• Experience supervising or managing a team in a professional setting.

• Incumbents in this class may be required to possess and retain a valid Motor Vehicle Operator’s license.
• Incumbents in this class may be required to travel.

AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION/EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

The State of Connecticut is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer and strongly encourages the applications of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities.

As defined by Sec. 5-196 of the Connecticut General Statutes, a job class is a position or group of positions that share general characteristics and are categorized under a single title for administrative purposes.  As such, a job class is not meant to be all-inclusive of every task and/or responsibility.