Director, Reliability Standards and Regulation

51729 - Toronto - Regular

Hydro One is proud to be the largest electricity transmission and distribution provider in Ontario, serving nearly 1.5 million customers. We have a long history in the industry with our roots dating back over 110 years to 1906. Since then, we have worked to grow and evolve to meet the changing needs of our customers and communities across Ontario. Today, we’re focused on providing exceptional customer service and ensuring we are building safe communities where we live, work and play.

It’s an exciting time to join the team at Hydro One!

Department Overview:

Within the context set out by the Vice President Reliability Standards and Chief Regulatory Officer, and as informed and framed, lead the development, sustainment and prosecution of corporate -wide programs, which influence the development of and thereafter drive Hydro One to achieve, sustain, and demonstrate compliance with:

• Externally imposed reliability-related laws, regulations and standards applicable to Hydro One; and internally developed reliability policies, standards and practices. Represent and defend Hydro One’s business interests and compliance posture in the broad context of evolving North American, Regional and Provincial reliability risks, regulations, and regulatory entities (e.g. OEB, CER, FERC, NERC, NPCC, OEB, IESO, MACD, PEO and others).

• Monitor, evaluate and advance Hydro One’s compliance posture and associated internal controls, driving Hydro One’s readiness and success in the face of external audits and other regulatory monitoring and enforcement actions by such authorities as the IESO’s MACD. Lead strategies and specific initiatives needed to achieve corporate reliability objectives, sustain achievement in the face of looming threats to reliability and to seize opportunities to leverage Hydro One and reliability strengths.

Accountabilities:

• Direct, undertake and/or support the authoring, maintenance and promotion of various corporate policies pertaining to reliability-related regulatory standards and associated compliance assurance.

• Derive context from such sources as corporate strategies and objectives as well as operational needs across the corporation and develop as well as advance and/or approve as appropriate and defend long-range (3-5 years planning horizon) reliability-related regulatory compliance strategies and plans.

• Develop and lead external research (generally North America-wide, but may be global, as necessary) on matters of reliability-related laws, standards and other regulations, as well as industry best practices, of interest to Hydro One, including implications of emerging regulations benchmarking, major adverse events impacting other utilities, risks, mitigations, regulatory trends and projections, and otherwise, on the evolving regulatory landscape.

• Develop and lead internal research, investigations and big data analytics on such matters as economic impacts of reliability regulations, compliance postures, internal controls, reliability risks, and the effectiveness of risk mitigation plans.

• Develop and review Board, executive, governance, and oversight entity briefings as necessary.

• Develop and direct a program to sustain and advance Hydro One’s corporate culture of compliance, including appropriate levels of corporate-wide awareness and technical understanding of various regulatory standards, and Hydro One’s compliance obligations, monitor, evaluate, interpret, inform and advise Hydro One on its compliance posture, compliance risks and associated internal controls, and compliance issues including potential non-compliances to such external standards as:

1. 1. 1. North American, National, Regional and Provincial standards;
      2. Laws, regulations, and standards pertaining to the practice of Professional Engineering in Ontario; and
      3. Other external mandatory reliability-related regulations, as may be assigned.

Provide advice and guidance in respect to all matters of reliability regulations, including Hydro One’s compliance and compliance risk posture.

• Lead the development, documentation, execution, sustainment and promotion of a corporate-wide program or programs, including but not limited to Hydro One’s Internal Compoiance Program (ICP), in order to achieve, sustain and demonstrate compliance to applicable reliability-related regulations including effective governance structure(s) and associated operational procedures. Internally drive, facilitate, support, report upon, and otherwise perform the “2nd line role” in respect Hydro One’s activities in achieving, sustaining and demonstrating compliance with reliability regulations. Direct, and as necessary directly undertake, corporate-wide interventions in the event that corporate compliance efforts are inadequate or at risk.

• Sustain and advance Hydro One’s practice of professional Engineering in compliance with applicable laws, regulations and standards of professional practice. Provide subject matter expertise and other support to Hydro One’s Management, Human Resources and Labour Relations staff in resolving issues or disputes pertaining to Hydro One’s practice of Professional Engineering. Participate in and represent Hydro One’s interests in any resulting arbitration or other dispute resolution forum. Lead the provision of subject matter expertise (including technical engineering, regulatory, compliance, and related expertise) in respect to assigned reliability regulations).

• Externally represent and advocate for Hydro One’s business interests before various North American regulators, standards authorities, monitoring and enforcement authorities, and/or other external applicable authorities (including but not limited to OEB, IESO, IESO/MACD, CER, FERC, NERCC, NPCC, PEO, etc) in respect to the development of emerging new reliability-related laws, standards and other regulations, as well as material revisions to these. Delegate as appropriate.

• Develop strategies and plans, and as endorsed, undertake Hydro One’s intervention applications with North American regulators and/or standards authorities, in the event that certain standards (in whole or in part) conflict with or present unacceptable adversity to Hydro One’s business interests; pursue improved outcomes for Hydro One.

• Participate in, materially support and/or otherwise directly represent Hydro One in Regulatory (and if necessary, Legal) proceedings (including hearings), including but not limited to regulatory rate application, standards development and/or standards intervention applications. Direct the preparation of Hydro One staff to represent Hydro One as technical experts and/or hearing witness in respect to such proceedings. Directly undertake to represent Hydro One as a witness, as necessary.

• Lead corporate program(s) to establish and leverage relationships with North American industry participants in support of Hydro One’s business interests by participating in, contributing to and influencing various external business and governmental forums and working groups (e.g. IESO Reliability Standards Standing Committee (RSSC) Member, Canadian Electricity Association (CEA) Electric Regulatory Advisory Committee (ERAC) group, North American Transmitters Forum (NATF), various NERC/NPCC Standards Drafting Teams, various regulators and standards authority forums and committees).

• Sustain Hydro One’s appropriate and productive relationships with various external monitoring and enforcement authorities (e., IESO’s MACD, Professional Engineers Ontario) with the objective of minimizing Hydro One’s monitoring burdens and enforcement exposures.

• Lead the identification, investigation, evaluation and reporting to the appropriate external monitoring and enforcement authority, and mitigate instances of Hydro One’s potential non-compliance with reliability regulations. Prepare, coach, and otherwise support various Hydro One management to represent each instance of potential non-compliance in appearances before the appropriate Hydro One governance, oversight and decision-making committees (e.g. Reliability Standards Compliance Committee).

• On matters of extensive reliability issues, significant risks to Hydro One and/or Code or Conduct matters, engage with direct, or support collaborative corporate wide investigations in cooperation with Internal Audit, The office of Hydro One’s Ombudsperson, and the Office of the Corporate Secretary. As necessary, brief the chief Compliance Officer, and other parties, as appropriate. Direct the preparation, execution, and reporting upon mitigation.

• On matters of reliability regulations, develop and direct corporate programs to proactively and regularly inform, advise, seek endorsement and/or actions from, and prosecute undertakings on behalf of, various executive leadership, governance and oversight bodies, including but not limited to the Chief Compliance Officer, the Reliability Standards Compliance Committee (RSCC), the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), the Corporate Ethics Office, as well as the Board of Directors, various Committees of the Board (e.g. Governance and Regulatory Committee (GTC)), and Internal Audit.

• Serve as Secretary and Support the Chief Compliance Office as Chair for the executive-level, standards review committee RSCC. This includes preparation and provision of required material and implementation of the executive level decisions.

• Act as Hydro One’s Market Participant Compliance Contact (MPCC) with the IESO’s MACD and other standards enforcement bodies as required, to understand and address any judgements, decisions and sanctions that could impact Hydro One.

• In the pursuit of the above, direct and/or undertake the use, analysis, and derivation of sensitive corporate information (e.g. confidential, secret, Bulk Electricity Cyber System Information, reports of potential non-compliances, ETC.), and protect such information from inappropriate external disclosures and associated damages to Hydro One.

• Support and/or lead specific initiatives as required (e.g. audits of various internal and external activities, benchmarking initiatives, major customer response/support).

• Perform other duties as required

Required Education:

• 4 year University Bachelor Degree in Applied Science and Engineering

Desired Qualifications:

• A professional engineer’s License (P.Eng) issues by Professional Engineers Ontario

• Postgraduate studies and/or accreditation in such areas as Business, Law, Regulatory, and/or Audit

Required Experience:

• Extensive experience in a wide variety of electric power system capacities, including engineering, power system planning, project management, operations, construction, logistics, and system sustainment.

• Experience in business strategy, planning, operations and management, regulation and regulatory constructs, law and audit.

• Experience leading teams of professional staff, including management, engineering and other subject matter professionals.

• Extensive experience effectively interacting with and representing before executives and associated executive leadership teams, Boards of Directors and various committees of Board, external regulatory, legal and governmental bodies.

• A period of 10 years is considered necessary to gain this experience.