Operations & Transmission Planner - Hetch Hetchy Water & Power (Moccasin) (5602) (Exempt)

Company Description

• Application Opening: July 29, 2025
• Application Filing Deadline: September 3, 2025 (extended from August 19, 2025 to broaden candidate pool)
• Recruitment ID:  151727; RTF0153666-01111427

APPOINTMENT TYPE: Exempt: This position is excluded by the Charter from the competitive Civil Service examination process and shall serve at the discretion of the Appointing Officer. The duration of the appointment shall not exceed 36 months.

WHO ARE WE?
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)
Headquartered in San Francisco, we have 2,300 employees operating across eight counties serving more than 2.7 million customers in the San Francisco Bay Area – 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Our Mission: To provide our customers with high quality, efficient, and reliable water, power, and wastewater services in a manner that values environmental and community interests and sustains the resources entrusted to our care.

Our Vision: We are an innovative utility leader, recognized for excellent results in service, safety, stewardship, and inclusiveness.

We are an award-winning and industry-leading utilities organization committed to our customers, community interests, and the environment. To learn more about our organization, please visit our website at https://www.sfpuc.gov.

We are proud of our infrastructure and programs, but most importantly, we value our highly qualified and dedicated workforce which ensures that this vision becomes a reality.

To learn more about working at the SFPUC, visit our career site at https://www.sfpuc.gov/about-us/careers-sfpuc

The Hetch Hetchy Operating Division is responsible for collecting and transmitting 80% of the drinking water consumed by the SFPUC’s 2.7 million water customers. The Division is also responsible for the hydroelectric generation and transmission to the SFPUC’s wholesale electric customers. Hetch Hetchy Water & Power (HHWP) is responsible for a diverse set of water and power assets that require electrical engineering expertise to maintain and operate the system which nearly spans the width of the California.  The assets that require heavy electrical engineering support include four powerhouses (400MW), eight generating units, six substations/switchyards, 150 miles of power transmission and 50 miles of power distribution systems. 

Job Description

Project name: Outage Transmission Planning Project

Essential Functions:

Under general direction of the HHWP Chief Engineer, the 5602 Operations & Transmission Planner performs professional planning, analysis, and studies to maintain the integrity and reliability of the SFPUC 115kV and 230kV electric transmission assets. The successful candidate is expected to work collaboratively with HHWP Power Operations and HHWP Engineering, consultant subject matter experts, and neighboring electric utilities.

Specifically, the 5602 Operations & Transmission Planner will:

1. Assists HHWP Power Operations to adapts system configurations to evolving regional grid conditions.
2. Analyzes and manages studies of proposed changes to the HHWP electric transmission system and communicate secondary effects to HHWP Senior Management.
3. Advocates HHWP’s position at regional electric utility planning meetings, presents and justifies HHWP’s recommendations, and coordinates decisions among HHWP Senior Management.
4. Monitors operations to ensure compliance with policy directives, laws, regulations and contractual constraints including monitoring the performance of hydroelectric generators & transformers, electric transmission & distribution assets, switchyards & substations, to identify opportunities to improve asset performance and reliability.
5. Develops, maintains, and runs software models and tools to evaluate power flow and transient stability simulation analyses. Selects and updates case studies to reflect projected system configurations for days/weeks-ahead transmission planning. Selects studies and updates for 1 (or 2) year, 5-year and 10-year timeframes. Develops electric transmission operating contingency plans. 
6. Runs steady-state, transient stability, voltage stability, short circuit and GMD studies and troubleshoots issues per NERC/WECC and CAISO requirements and procedures.
7. Reviews and submits base case review change files and comments upon request from WECC (e.g., Annual review schedule), CAISO (e.g., Annual Transmission Planning Process) and PG&E (e.g., Grid Expansion Process).
8. Leads electric transmission planning activities by plann