Energy companies look toward new technologies & smarten up existing ones

The push for cleaner energy, plus a wave of potential retirements, opens up an active job market

These techies have useful and exciting careers at gas and electric utilities and gas pipeline companies

By Sue Marquette Poremba
Contributing Editor

Energy production and delivery is an evolving technology. As consumers become more concerned about energy cleanliness, efficiency and safety as well as rising costs, energy-involved utilities look toward new technologies. Part of the ongoing goal is to give consumers more control over how they use energy, and allow for better detection and correction of problems.

At CPS Energy, Anthony Hawkins works with advanced metering
Anthony Hawkins, director of system measurement and technology at CPS Energy (San Antonio, TX), sees engineers as leaders in the changing utility technologies. That, he predicts, will mean more opportunities for women and minorities.

Hawkins has been with CPS Energy for four years. As sponsor for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), he’s responsible for automating more than a million electric and gas meters. Deployment of the system is expected to start this fall.

“We’re looking at a five-year program to exchange every electric meter in San Antonio, and retrofit gas meters with a wireless radio module for two-way communication,” he explains.

On the IT side, Hawkins is also accountable for managing the data that comes in from the new smart meters. “We’ll also implement a data warehouse and a meter management system so we can put the data into a meaningful format for other business units or back-office applications to use,” he says.

Switching to smart meters will let consumers make better-informed decisions about their energy use. “Smart meters with two-way communication will let us send information back to the customer,” Hawkins explains. “Right now you don’t know how much energy you’ve used until you get a bill. Being able to see how much energy you use on a daily basis will allow for better conservation and efficiency.”

Since high school, where he met and liked electronics and computers, Hawkins knew he wanted a career in engineering. He received his BS in EET from Texas A&M University in 1990, and has completed coursework toward a masters in public admin specializing in government IS from Texas State University.

“I thought I would mix the engineering with IS,” he explains. “In my industry, I see people
who have a BS, MS and even a PhD, all in engineering. But because I work in public power,
I thought it would be better to mix engineering with something in public administration.”

His first job after college was with Austin Energy (Austin, TX). He began as an applications engineer on the energy management system that controls the grid, then moved to metering where he implemented a fixed wireless network metering system. When that project was complete he transferred to distribution ops. “I know a little bit about a lot in the utility sector,” he says with a laugh.

After fifteen years in Austin, Hawkins moved to San Antonio to work for CPS Energy. It was
an exciting new challenge. “In Austin there are only about 350,000 meter points, while in San Antonio there are more than a million,” he explains.

Hawkins believes the rapidly advancing smart meter technology will open a lot of opportunities for young engineers. He was a member of NSBE as a college student and remains active as an advisor to the society.

“Engineering can lay the foundation to move into so many different arenas,” he says. “As the utility industry evolves there’s always a need for new skill sets.”

ME Hoan Thai is a staff engineer at Philadelphia Gas Works
Staff engineer Hoan Thai is in charge of enforced relocation at Philadelphia Gas Works (Philadelphia, PA). “Essentially, I replace gas mains that are in conflict with other utilities in proposed projects,” Thai explains.

“When a utility wants to inhabit a location that currently has a gas main, often the gas main moves. Sometimes there’s no other design option for the utility proposing the project and it is possible to relocate the gas main. Other times it’s in PGW’s best interest to replace the main because of its age.”

The job involves a lot of project management. “You have to work closely with everybody
who is involved with the project and be very open-minded about what they have to say.”

With all utility lines and mains plotted, it’s up to Thai to find reasonable paths to redirect the gas mains. “You need to work with others to make it go smoothly,” he says.

But plotting the new line isn’t the only difficult part. Thai has to meet code and make sure the backfill won’t overstress the pipe. “I’m in charge of every aspect, from the beginning of the design to the billing at the end. I have to come up with cost agreements, find the documents
I need, consider the legal implications. I have to wear many different hats,” he says.

Thai has been with Philadelphia Gas Works for three years. After he received his 2005 BSME from Temple University (Philadelphia, PA) he worked for Turner Construction. “But when I came to PGW it was an instant fit.”

One attractive part of the job is the chance to learn a lot in a number of areas, because young engineers at the company rotate jobs periodically. Thai has held three different jobs in his three years with Philadelphia Gas. “They do this so we get exposure to all aspects of the company.

“You also have to be able to deal with all types of people from different backgrounds,” he notes. To work on this, Thai has been active in Toastmasters.

After hours he’s working on an MS in finance engineering at Temple. He was also PGW team captain for the Lung Association stair-climb event, and he’s an avid cyclist.

EE Laura Wright is a supervisor at Constellation Energy
Laura Wright has 1999 BAs in both math and physics from the College of Notre Dame (Baltimore, MD), and a 2000 BSEE from the University of Maryland. “It was a dual degree,” she explains. “The program was developed to encourage women to get into engineering.”

Wright had a scholarship sponsored by Baltimore Gas and Electric (BGE), and worked for the utility all six college summers. She liked the work and signed on as an associate engineer when she graduated.

Today Wright is supervisor of the automation contracting and design unit of BGE (Baltimore, MD), which is a regulated distributor of electricity and natural gas for Constellation Energy. She manages seven designers and some engineers who work on protection and control systems inside substations. These, she explains, are systems that sense faults or surges of power. Their prime function is to protect the substation equipment and personnel. The systems also provide data about the circuit breakers and other equipment: whether they’re open or closed, and how much load is on the line.

While her job is mostly supervisory, Wright is still enjoying some hands-on work from her days as an engineer. “We were having trouble with meters in a substation in the communication network, and I’m working on a project to replace the communication interface to the meters.”

She did the design and now she’s finishing up the programming. “Then I’ll go out to the field with the technicians who do the installation.”

Outside the office Wright volunteers with a canine search and rescue group. She helped train her German shepherd to be a rescue dog, and she’s a registered search manager who goes out with the dog team.

VP Jesus Soto: knowledge transfer at El Paso Corp
CE Jesus Soto is VP of operations services at the pipeline group of El Paso Corp (Houston, TX). “My responsibility is to support our field organization across all our pipelines from a technical perspective,” he explains. “I support them in the disciplines of measurement systems, compression systems, pipeline systems, telecom systems, reservoir services and compliance, where we interface with the U.S. Department of Transportation.”

The centralized group drives standards and best practices across El Paso pipeline systems that transport natural gas through 42,000 miles of pipe safely, efficiently and dependably. “The engineers and technicians who work on these pipes have different cultures and backgrounds and different ways of doing things,” he explains. “We’re always looking to drive consistency and knowledge transfer.

“One of our core values is safety, and one of our goals is to make each task incident-free,” Soto notes. “You learn to do that by communicating experiences throughout the organization.”

Soto got his engineering start through an internship at the Texas Department of Transportation. “I wanted to go to college because that was the expectation my parents had, and I was interested in construction because my dad worked for a highway contractor, but I really didn’t know what I wanted to pursue,” he says. “During that internship I got exposed to engineers, and that led me to CE.”

After getting his BSCE from the University of Texas at El Paso, Soto went on to a 1992 MSCE from Texas A&M. Then he went to work for El Paso Corp’s pipeline group. “I started my career here in a rotational program that exposed entry-level engineers to the company,” he says.

In sixteen years with the company Soto has held seven different positions. “It’s not that I can’t keep a job,” he says with a laugh. “I’ve been blessed in the opportunities that have been offered to me. I’ve worked both domestically and internationally, and it’s given me a great appreciation for what the organization does.”

Soto’s group is responsible for several programs. One is a pipeline integrity program that goes beyond federal requirements. “This demonstrates our core values and commitment to safety,” Soto says.

VP Susan Fleck: regulatory compliance and more at National Grid
Susan Fleck fell in love with the utilities industry in her first job. When she
got her BSCE from Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) in 1980, she interviewed for jobs in the Pittsburgh area and was hired as a field engineer
by Columbia Gas.

“That’s what I wanted,” she says. “I didn’t want a design job, I wanted to be outside, working with my hands and learning from the ground up. Columbia was the only company to offer me that type of job.”

She found that she really enjoyed the industry. “It’s a teamwork type of environment, and I like to be part of a group.”

Wanting to know more about utilities, she moved to a design engineer job in New York, NY, then on to New England where she worked for Boston Gas (Boston, MA). “I’ve worked in construction departments, I’ve done pure engineering, I’ve done regulatory work; I’ve been
all over the place!” she declares.

Boston Gas was acquired by National Grid (Brooklyn, NY), and now Fleck works in the company’s Waltham, MA location as VP of engineering policy and standards. She’s responsible for regulatory compliance, standards and materials, R&D and technical communications.

She works closely with agencies that conduct research for National Grid and other utilities. One project focuses on the risk of damage to gas lines by outside contractors working on other buried utilities. “A tremendous amount of research dollars goes toward preventing damage. We’re looking at acoustical technologies and ground-penetrating radar that will map everything underground. In a big city like New York or Boston, that’s critical.”

Fleck’s group allocates the research dollars and works closely with the researchers. “We attend meetings with them, travel to their labs, do demos in our service territory. My job is to help pick the projects we want to fund and manage them through to commercialization,” she says.

Energy companies sponsor diversity and inclusion
Milton B. Lee is CEO of CPS Energy (San Antonio, TX). “It takes a lot of talented, conscientious men and women from many different backgrounds to provide Greater San Antonio with reliable natural gas and electric service,” he says. ”At CPS Energy we embrace diversity, and value what each of our 3,600 employees brings to our organization so we can achieve outstanding performance for the benefit of our customers.”

Sue Ortenstone, senior VP of HR and admin at El Paso Corp (Houston, TX), notes that the company “recognizes the importance of diversity and inclusion
in the workplace. It helps us recruit and retain top talent, and create added value across the enterprise in functional areas and disciplines like engineering and IT.”

Nereida Perez, VP of inclusion and diversity, says National Grid (Brooklyn, NY) “is committed to be an employer of choice. Creating an inclusive and diverse workforce will enable the company to attract and retain the best people, improve our effectiveness, deliver superior performance and enhance the success of the company.

Janese Murray, executive director of corporate diversity at Constellation Energy (Baltimore, MD), notes that the company’s commitment to diversity and inclusion begins with the belief that each person deserves to be treated with respect and valued as a whole person. “It’s good business and it’s the right thing to do,” she says.

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Sue Marquette Poremba is an engineering and construction writer in State College, PA.

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