Xcel Energy
Transmission Planning Engineer (Entry, Staff, Senior or Principal Level)
Xcel Energy, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55401
Transmission Planning Engineer Opportunities
Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of? Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow? A position at Xcel Energy could be just what you're looking for. This position can be hired at the entry, staff, senior, or principal level, depending on the candidates' overall experience, qualifications, and interview. This position can be based in Denver, Colorado or Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a hybrid (3 days per week in the office) work schedule. Key job performance criteria (will differ based upon job level): Perform comprehensive power system planning studies, including: Steady-state load flow analysis under normal and contingency conditions (N-1, N-1-1, and extreme events) to identify system limitations and develop mitigation strategies. Short-circuit and protection coordination studies to ensure appropriate equipment ratings, relay coordination, and breaker duty compliance, including assessments for system modifications and new interconnections. Dynamic performance assessments, including transient stability and small-signal stability studies to evaluate rotor angle stability, voltage recovery, and oscillatory damping performance under a wide range of system disturbances. Electromagnetic transient (EMT) analysis for evaluating control interactions and fast dynamic phenomena associated with large power electronic loads (e.g., data centers), inverter-based resources (IBRs), and FACTS devices, leveraging PSCAD/EMTDC. Geomagnetic induced current (GIC) studies aligned with NERC TPL-007 standards to assess geomagnetic disturbance impacts on transformers and bulk electric system reliability. Support regulatory compliance and model validation activities: Perform NERC TPL-001-5.1 compliance assessments, including extreme event analyses such as CIP-014 physical security risk assessments, wide-area event simulations, and black start restoration studies. Support dynamic model validation efforts per WECC and NERC MOD standards, ensuring fidelity of generator, inverter, and composite load models for stability studies. Conduct advanced inverter-based resource (IBR) integration studies: Assess grid-forming/grid-following inverter technologies and their impact on system strength, transient behavior, and control interactions. Apply IEEE 2800 requirements for IBR performance, including ride-through, reactive power support, and fast frequency response capabilities. Address challenges of high renewable penetration and develop mitigation strategies to maintain bulk power system reliability. Support western interconnection and regional planning: Coordinate with WestConnect Planning Management Committee, WECC Reliability Subcommittees, and interconnection working groups to support transmission expansion planning, regional policy compliance, and reliability initiatives. Engage in regional and subregional transmission planning processes, contributing to multi-utility studies and cross-border resource integration scenarios. Perform resource interconnection and transmission service studies: Execute system impact studies (SIS) and facility studies consistent with FERC Order 2023 and regional tariffs. Evaluate interconnection requests for conventional generation, IBRs, storage, hybrid resources, and emerging technologies such as microgrids and aggregated DERs under FERC 2222 frameworks. Recommend necessary transmission reinforcements, upgrades, or operational solutions to accommodate new resources and loads. Evaluate grid-enhancing technologies (GETs): Analyze and model dynamic line rating (DLR), advanced power flow controllers (APFC), and topology optimization (TTO) to maximize transmission efficiency and capacity without traditional infrastructure expansion. Support cost-benefit assessments and pilot project implementations for GETs in collaboration with operations and asset management teams. Automation and digitalization: Develop and maintain Python-based automation tools to streamline study execution, scenario management, and results post-processing for PSSE, PSLF, TARA, TSAT, PSCAD simulations. Advance digital workflows to reduce engineering effort, improve repeatability, and enable high-volume interconnection and compliance studies. Reporting, regulatory filings, and knowledge dissemination: Author and deliver technical reports, regulatory filings, and executive summaries for internal leadership and external regulatory agencies. Present findings at regional stakeholder meetings, industry conferences (e.g., IEEE PES, CIGR), and technical workshops to communicate planning approaches and emerging challenges. Industry engagement and representation: Represent Xcel Energy in NERC working groups, IEEE technical committees, WECC Model Validation Working Group, WestConnect Planning forums, and other industry task forces focused on dynamic performance, renewable integration, and bulk power system reliability. Mentorship and technical leadership: Mentor engineers, interns, and analysts on advanced simulation methodologies, IBR modeling, EMT techniques, and emerging grid technologies. Provide technical leadership to internal teams, fostering expertise development in grid dynamics, automation, and planning best practices. Lead internal technical workshops and contribute to the development of best-in-class planning documentation and standards. Support development of capital budgets, conceptual transmission projects, and economic analyses in joint planning contexts.
Are you looking for an exciting job where you can put your skills and talents to work at a company you can feel proud to be a part of? Do you want a workplace that will challenge you and offer you opportunities to learn and grow? A position at Xcel Energy could be just what you're looking for. This position can be hired at the entry, staff, senior, or principal level, depending on the candidates' overall experience, qualifications, and interview. This position can be based in Denver, Colorado or Minneapolis, Minnesota, on a hybrid (3 days per week in the office) work schedule. Key job performance criteria (will differ based upon job level): Perform comprehensive power system planning studies, including: Steady-state load flow analysis under normal and contingency conditions (N-1, N-1-1, and extreme events) to identify system limitations and develop mitigation strategies. Short-circuit and protection coordination studies to ensure appropriate equipment ratings, relay coordination, and breaker duty compliance, including assessments for system modifications and new interconnections. Dynamic performance assessments, including transient stability and small-signal stability studies to evaluate rotor angle stability, voltage recovery, and oscillatory damping performance under a wide range of system disturbances. Electromagnetic transient (EMT) analysis for evaluating control interactions and fast dynamic phenomena associated with large power electronic loads (e.g., data centers), inverter-based resources (IBRs), and FACTS devices, leveraging PSCAD/EMTDC. Geomagnetic induced current (GIC) studies aligned with NERC TPL-007 standards to assess geomagnetic disturbance impacts on transformers and bulk electric system reliability. Support regulatory compliance and model validation activities: Perform NERC TPL-001-5.1 compliance assessments, including extreme event analyses such as CIP-014 physical security risk assessments, wide-area event simulations, and black start restoration studies. Support dynamic model validation efforts per WECC and NERC MOD standards, ensuring fidelity of generator, inverter, and composite load models for stability studies. Conduct advanced inverter-based resource (IBR) integration studies: Assess grid-forming/grid-following inverter technologies and their impact on system strength, transient behavior, and control interactions. Apply IEEE 2800 requirements for IBR performance, including ride-through, reactive power support, and fast frequency response capabilities. Address challenges of high renewable penetration and develop mitigation strategies to maintain bulk power system reliability. Support western interconnection and regional planning: Coordinate with WestConnect Planning Management Committee, WECC Reliability Subcommittees, and interconnection working groups to support transmission expansion planning, regional policy compliance, and reliability initiatives. Engage in regional and subregional transmission planning processes, contributing to multi-utility studies and cross-border resource integration scenarios. Perform resource interconnection and transmission service studies: Execute system impact studies (SIS) and facility studies consistent with FERC Order 2023 and regional tariffs. Evaluate interconnection requests for conventional generation, IBRs, storage, hybrid resources, and emerging technologies such as microgrids and aggregated DERs under FERC 2222 frameworks. Recommend necessary transmission reinforcements, upgrades, or operational solutions to accommodate new resources and loads. Evaluate grid-enhancing technologies (GETs): Analyze and model dynamic line rating (DLR), advanced power flow controllers (APFC), and topology optimization (TTO) to maximize transmission efficiency and capacity without traditional infrastructure expansion. Support cost-benefit assessments and pilot project implementations for GETs in collaboration with operations and asset management teams. Automation and digitalization: Develop and maintain Python-based automation tools to streamline study execution, scenario management, and results post-processing for PSSE, PSLF, TARA, TSAT, PSCAD simulations. Advance digital workflows to reduce engineering effort, improve repeatability, and enable high-volume interconnection and compliance studies. Reporting, regulatory filings, and knowledge dissemination: Author and deliver technical reports, regulatory filings, and executive summaries for internal leadership and external regulatory agencies. Present findings at regional stakeholder meetings, industry conferences (e.g., IEEE PES, CIGR), and technical workshops to communicate planning approaches and emerging challenges. Industry engagement and representation: Represent Xcel Energy in NERC working groups, IEEE technical committees, WECC Model Validation Working Group, WestConnect Planning forums, and other industry task forces focused on dynamic performance, renewable integration, and bulk power system reliability. Mentorship and technical leadership: Mentor engineers, interns, and analysts on advanced simulation methodologies, IBR modeling, EMT techniques, and emerging grid technologies. Provide technical leadership to internal teams, fostering expertise development in grid dynamics, automation, and planning best practices. Lead internal technical workshops and contribute to the development of best-in-class planning documentation and standards. Support development of capital budgets, conceptual transmission projects, and economic analyses in joint planning contexts.