About the Role
The Senior Manager, Grid Planning is responsible for owning and integrating the utility’s system and capacity planning strategy to ensure the safe, reliable, sustainable, and cost-effective delivery of electricity services. This role provides enterprise-wide accountability for aligning inputs across various planning functions into a single, integrated system plan and capital strategy.
Responsibilities
- Own and provide final accountability for the integration and delivery of the utility’s short- and medium-term distribution system plans, capacity plans and infrastructure investment strategies.
- Integrate inputs from the Long-term planning team to establish planning horizons and scenarios to support future customer demand, electrification, and large load connections.
- Deliver a single, consolidated system plan that aligns asset management, system reliability, customer growth, and corporate strategies.
- Identify future system constraints, risks, and investment requirements and determine recommended mitigation strategies across competing priorities.
- Develop the narrative for the 5-Year Distribution System Plan, incorporating inputs from asset management functions.
- Integrate and reconcile inputs from Long-Term Grid Planning and Grid Strategy team on the continuous improvement of enterprise asset management and asset life-cycle practices.
- Ensure final investment recommendations appropriately reflect asset condition, criticality, performance, and asset investment prioritization frameworks.
- Ensure alignment with applicable asset management standards and industry best practices through integrated planning outputs.
- Integrate grid modernization and innovation inputs into system planning outcomes in alignment with the digital and modernization strategy roadmap.
- Incorporate evaluations of emerging technologies (including smart grid technologies) into investment decision-making.
- Review and integrate business cases supporting innovative investments and modernization programs into broader system priorities.
- Assess opportunities to improve system flexibility, resilience, reliability, and operational efficiency and prioritize within the overall system plan.
- Oversee integration of system study outputs that support safety, operational and customer connection processes.
- Provide final planning direction and prioritization for short- and medium-term stations and capacity-related investments.
- Assess impacts of population growth, economic development, electric vehicle adoption, distributed energy resources, energy storage, and electrification initiatives.
- Integrate inputs from Long-Term planning team and external stakeholders to determine future infrastructure requirements.
- Oversee and manage departmental activities to comply with required environment, health and safety (EHS) legislation, regulations, policies, procedures and practices.
- Conduct office inspections and audit performance for alignment with requirements.
- Provide coaching and feedback to front-line managers and employees to reduce and/or eliminate EHS hazards and risks, introduce controls and maintain and improve EHS performance.
- Conduct incident investigations and root cause analysis (proactive and reactive) to continually drive EHS performance.
- Act to resolve escalated health and safety concerns.
- Attend safety meetings and contribute as a subject matter expert to the development of organizational environmental health and safety management and technology systems and programs.
- In alignment with organizational programs, practices and collective agreements, manage employee performance, attendance and training and development.
- Provide coaching and feedback to motivate and engage employee outcomes in the attainment of organizational goals; act to address gaps in performance which may impact outcomes.
- Provide varied growth opportunities and support specific rotations for all employees.
- Own the consolidation and final recommendation of short and medium-term capital plans and investment portfolios.
- Ensure investment recommendations are supported by prudent engineering, financial, and risk analyses and reflect cross-functional trade-offs.
- Balance and reconcile inputs from Grid Strategy team and senior leadership to establish capital expenditure forecasts and funding priorities.
- Monitor portfolio performance and alignment with strategic objectives and adjust planning direction as needed.
- Support regulatory applications and proceedings, including rate applications and investment justifications.
- Provide integrated planning evidence and defend consolidated investment decisions.
- Support and cultivate collaborative relationships with key stakeholders like the Independent System Operator, Hydro One and the City of Toronto.
- Ensure system risk assessments are integrated into planning decisions.
- Integrate inputs from grid strategy and standards and policy teams to develop strategies to address climate adaptation, extreme weather events, cyber-physical risks, and infrastructure vulnerabilities.
- Ensure planning activities incorporate reliability, safety, environmental, and business continuity considerations.
- Establish performance metrics and reporting frameworks to monitor planning outcomes.
Requirements
- Undergraduate degree in Electrical or Systems Engineering or related discipline.
- Ten (10+) years professional level experience in utility planning, design, operations, or execution.
- Professional Engineer (P. Eng) in the province of Ontario.
- Minimum five (5) years progressive supervisory leadership experience.
- Minimum three (3) years experience in distribution system planning, asset management, and capital investment planning.
- Experience with Grid Modernization, electrification planning and advanced utility technologies.
- Post graduate degree in Business or Engineering (preferred).
- Strategic thinking and planning focus with strong emphasis on vision setting.
- Remain calm under pressure and able to make decisions in a complex and uncertain environment.
- Travel between work centers.
- Comprehensive knowledge of electrical substation and distribution system design, planning, operations and reliability principles.
- Thorough understanding of asset management frameworks and lifecycle planning methodologies.
- Demonstrated knowledge of capital investment planning, and risk management principles.
- Understanding of climate resilience, sustainability, and environmental considerations affecting utility infrastructure.
- Familiarity with utility planning software, GIS systems, power system analysis tools, and asset management systems.
- Knowledge of risk management and climate resiliency planning principles.
- Awareness of the electricity industry changes and the ability to predict trends.
- Knowledge of design and foundations of different electrical systems (e.g. URD, CRD/CLD, radial loop and secondary mesh network).
- Knowledge of regulatory and business case development.
- Strong written and verbal communication and presentation skills.
- Strong stakeholder engagement and management skills.
- Strong change management skills.
- Strong problem solving and decision-making skills (under pressure).
- Understanding of effective project management practices and skills.
- Understands the financial, regulatory, operational, and customer impacts of planning decisions and balances competing priorities.
- Demonstrates ownership of outcomes, builds high-performing teams, and drives departmental performance.
- Can challenge traditional approaches and promotes adoption of new technologies.
Skills
- Grid Modernization
- Electrification planning
- Advanced utility technologies
- Strategic thinking
- Vision setting
- Electrical substation design
- Distribution system design
- System planning
- Operations
- Reliability principles
- Asset management frameworks
- Lifecycle planning methodologies
- Capital investment planning
- Risk management
- Climate resilience
- Sustainability
- Environmental considerations
- Utility planning software
- GIS systems
- Power system analysis tools
- Asset management systems
- Climate resiliency planning
- Electricity industry trend prediction
- URD design
- CRD/CLD design
- Radial loop design
- Secondary mesh network design
- Regulatory compliance
- Business case development
- Written communication
- Verbal communication
- Presentation skills
- Stakeholder engagement
- Stakeholder management
- Change management
- Problem solving
- Decision-making
- Project management
- Financial analysis
- Operational analysis
- Customer impact analysis
- Team building
- Performance management
- Technology adoption
Location
- Toronto
Work Type
- Hybrid
- Onsite
- Remote
Experience Level
- Senior
- Manager
- Ten (10+) years professional level experience
- Minimum five (5) years progressive supervisory leadership experience
- Minimum three (3) years experience in distribution system planning, asset management, and capital investment planning
Education Level
- Undergraduate degree in Electrical or Systems Engineering or related discipline
- Post graduate degree in Business or Engineering (preferred)
Salary/Compensations
- $132403 - $165504 Annually
- Target Variable Performance Pay: 25%
Benefits
- 100% employer paid Health & Dental benefits
- 24/7 access to Employee & Family Assistance Program and Virtual Healthcare
- Company-paid life insurance and long term disability
- Spending account to support fitness goals (e.g. gym memberships)
- Competitive paid time off (including vacation and parental leave)
- Defined Benefits Pension Plan through OMERS
- Career development and tuition reimbursement
- Exciting employee engagement and appreciation events throughout the year
About the Company
- Toronto Hydro is committed to leveraging new technologies to support an efficient and inclusive recruitment process.
- Toronto Hydro is committed to fostering an inclusive and accessible recruitment process.
- Learn more about our commitment to accessibility.
Equal Opportunity
- We welcome applications from all qualified candidates.
- Toronto Hydro is pleased to provide reasonable accommodation for qualified individuals throughout the job application process.
