Power Engineering

The Complete Career Guide

ABOUT THIS eBOOK

There has never been a better time to work in the Power & Utilities
sector. With $43 billion invested in the last four years, and an
estimated $3- $6 billion forecasted to be invested annually, the
industry is absolutely booming. Due to this rapid development, its
important to take a step back and familiarize yourself with all you
need to know about the changing industry dynamics, the latest
developments, changes in the key stakeholders, and how to position
yourself to succeed.
The goal of this eBook is to put you in the drivers seat on your career.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mohamed El Said is a part time contributor and intern at Hard Hat Hub. He has prior EPC experience
across several types of energy and distribution projects both nationally and internationally.
He holds a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from McGill University, Canada.

Hard Hat Hub is the fastest growing web platform that matches construction, engineering,
architecture and facilities professionals with leading companies.

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CONTENTS

Current market overview

Power Delivery 101

Whats driving job growth?

The workforce and key stakeholders

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Power Delivery 101

The delivery of power relies on a complex and intricate system of wires,
cables, switchgear, generators and a myriad of other elements. But, regardless
of the complexity or size, most systems boil down to the three distinct
components outlined below:

Generation:
In the US, that includes more than
5,800 large-scale power plants
and even more smaller generation
facilities. The vast majority are still

High-voltage transmission:
There are more than 500,000
miles worth of cables connecting
cities and towns with generation
facilities throughout the US.

Local distribution:
High-voltage is stepped down
and distributed to substations,
which bring power into homes,
businesses and industry.

see growth in alternative sources

like wind and solar.

Generation

Transmission

Distribution

Source: ASCE
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Current market
overview
A CONSOLIDATING INDUSTRY

Consolidation has been the name of the game for utilities in the past few years.
Two of the largest three utilities in the nation grew as a result of mergers and
acquisitions. Duke Energys merger with Progress Energy has put them at the
top of the list, serving approximately 7 million with 57,700 MW of electricity,
while Exelons Merger with Constellation has led to the joint company being
responsible for providing 46,000MW to approximately 5.75 million customers.

Duke Energy Corporation

PG&E Corporation
Exelon Cor poration
Edison International
NextEra Energy, Inc.
Southern Company
American Electric Power
FirstEnergy Corp.
Xcel Energy Inc.
National Grid plc
0

recently merged company

Source: Utility Dive
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Current market overview

DRIVERS OF CHANGE FOR UTILITIES

What are the reasons behind this shifting industry dynamic? There isnt a cutand-dry answer, unfortunately. The reasons are unique for each utility, however,
the two most important drivers are highlighted below.

Changing deregulation dynamics

Government mandated green and

the trending direction of the

market place. So far, 16 states
have a deregulated electricity
grid. The lis includes Connecticut,
Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New
York Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania,
Rhode Island, Texas and D.C; with the
promise of seven additional ones to
come online soon, (Arizona, Arkansas,
California, Nevada, New Mexico,
Virginia and Wyoming).

Currently coal and petroleum make

up approximately 70% of all power
generation in the U.S. With the
increasing relevance of renewables
- not to mention the increasingly
stringent government mandates utilities are having to acclimate their
infrastructure to accommodate this
trend. One of the easiest ways to
get into the game is to partner with
someone whos already a leader in the
industry.

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Whats driving
job growth?

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Whats driving job growth?

margin leads to increased

infrastructure
The long-term growth of the
nations economy is dependent on
a power infrastructure that cannot
sustain the demands or quality
required by todays digital age. In
order to keep pace with the ever
growing demand, analysts have
calculated that utilities will need
to up the number of transmission
lines by 1% annually over the next
two decades. Thats an annual
development of approximately
2,830 miles of transmission! Truly
a mammoth investment.
In its 2009 Long-Term Reliability
Assessment, the North American
Electricity Reliability Corporation,
11,000 miles of transmission lines
at 200KV + must be developed
and deployed. Thats an additional
35%, on top of the already slated
2018 expansion.

has estimated that power outages

substantial investments on both

cost the national economy

the generating assets side and the

approximately $80 billion per

transmission and distribution side

year, with the expectation of that

will be needed to bring it back up.

year as demand increases and
of our grid gotten? Losses have

the economy picks up. The rolling

more than doubled since 1970.

blackouts of 2006 in Texas and of

This increase in loss is enough to

those of 2003 in California cost

power approximately 13% of all

the economy upwards of $30

U.S households!

billion alone!

The Investments:
Past, present and government
assistance programs
Currently, the nations power
delivery system is one that
is characterized by an aging
and antiquated infrastructure,
largely remnant of the groundbreaking technologies of the
1950s. A recently published U.S.
Department of Energy study
revealed that 70% of transmission
lines and transformers are more

Not only do we need to build

that 25 years old, and that the

new transmission and distribution

majority of the circuit breakers out

lines, but we also need to replace

there are more than 30 years old!

the ones we have. This is due to

What has made matters worse

a phenomenon caused by the

is that between 1980 and 1999,

ever-important capacity margin.

when electricity consumption

Roughly speaking, the capacity

increased 58%, investment

margin is the difference between

in electricity infrastructure

total available committed

decreased by 44%, creating

capacity and peak demand

increased grid congestion that

requirements expressed as a

has led to irreversible damages to

percentage. A declining capacity

the infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Energy

The scenario isnt all doom and

gloom, though. After decades
of under-investment, capital
expenditure in the upwards of
$60 billion in the last decade has
been a very welcome change
in fortunes for the transmission
and distribution networks. This
investment has come largely in the
form of utility upgrades, as well
as state and county mandated
regulations. There has, however,
also been activity on the national
level. The American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
(ARRA) has dedicated $108 billion
to energy-related spending and
tax credits to various forms of
power providers and distributors.
Furthermore, an additional $11
billion from federal funds has
improvement of power delivery

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Whats driving job growth?

Grid modernization

cyber-security, an improved ability

The much talked about smart grid

to handle different sources of

generally refers to the notion of

power (such as wind and solar),

bringing computer-based control

improved ability to discharge to

and automation to the electric

different receptacles (such as solar

delivery industry.

vehicles), and most importantly,

For as long as theyve existed, the

way utilities gathered information
about a portion of their grid
was to send workers out to
physically locate and gather all
the required data using ladders,

reduced down-time in grids, as

electricians and engineers will
now be able to pinpoint exactly
where along the grid an outage
has occurred and can then reroute
power accordingly within seconds.
The latest development from

same respect to smart phones

the Department of Energy is an

progression into computerized

Energy Grid Tech Team, (GTT),

phones, the idea behind a smart

a collaboration built to analyze

grid is essentially the same -

and catalyze the industry to

forming a computerized network

modernize the grid by enhancing

of connecting wires, transformers,

the visibility, understanding and

substations and generating

stations.
Computerizing the grid in that
way means adding a two-way
communication between each

system. The GTT will provide

thought-leadership and a forum
for stakeholders to coordinate
actions and results.

device and wire in the grid with

a central command station at the
utility. These devices and wires will
then be able to gather data and
relay it back to an operator at the
utility in real time.
What does this mean? The
of the key points are: enhanced

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The workforce and

key stakeholders
More than ever before, the landscape of work in the
the workforce too. As the broad power industry faces a
shortage of workers, new options for workers are immerging
good time to get familiar with different career options as
they all have tradeoffs and unique perks.

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Communicating risk proactively

THE TRADITIONAL UTILITIES

POWER ENGINEERING CONSULTANCIES

Facing a double whammy of an aging population

and few aspirants wanting to join, the utilities
are going to be hit the hardest within coming
decade. Currently, approximately 25% of all
engineers involved in this sector are between
50-54 years old and a staggering 60% are above
45 years old. As a result, approximately 50% of
the skilled electric industry has the potential to
retire within the next decade! To make matters

Over the past decade, a growing number of

consultancies have been playing an increasingly
important role in the power delivery industry. From
general practice consultancies such as PWC, to more
specialized engineering consultants such as Leidos,
consulting practices are often seen by utilities as
a quick means to obtaining specialized expertise

worse, the number of entry-level engineers

between 18-27 years old has been on a 3%
decline for the past 7 years.

spent on consultants in the Power & Utilities industry

alone! And its not just the dollars that theyre taking
from the utilities, either. Since 2005, entry-level
engineering hiring at consultancies has outpaced
that of utilities by an outstanding 4-1!

The skinny

The skinny

Traditional utilities will be hiring for a long time.

They offer job stability that few other employers
can match. They also typically offer strong

More fast-paced and frenzied than utilities,

consultancies are better matched for the those
who want a lot of exposure to as much of the power
delivery industry in as little time as possible. Work
responsibilities will vary from project-to-project
and from client-to-client, ensuring that theres never
a dull moment and the learning curve remains
steep. The burnout rate can pretty high as a result;
70+ hour weeks arent uncommon and neither is
frequent traveling, (you might miss a few birthdays
but youll rack up those hotel loyalty points!). You
are compensated handsomely, however, and after
putting in a shift with a consultancy, your
experience will be highly sought after should you
decide to leave.

pace will be more steady than aggressive.

A good match for the utilities:

- You greatly value job stability
on your priority list
- Youre ok being the same role, with fairly
regular tasks year-over-year

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success, that since 2001, over $12 billion has been

A good match for the engineering consultancies:

- You like a faster-pace work environment
- Compensation is high on your priority list
- Youre ok putting in the hours, traveling and
managing multiple clients and projects

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industry relevant trends, please
visit Hard Hat Hubs blog.