Utilities Organizational Structure Outline
Utilities Organization Chart Template
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Utilities provide basic public infrastructure-related services, such as electricity, water, natural gas, waste disposal and sewage treatment, for individual consumers and businesses in both urban and rural areas. These companies can be privately owned (investor-owned), publicly owned or cooperatively owned (owned by the customers that they service).
Common Utilities job titles: Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Operating Officer (COO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Energy Retailing
Energy retailing involves the marketing and sales of utilities services to commercial and retail customers. In some cases, retailers purchase commodities in bulk from energy traders (spot markets). In other cases, utilities companies are integrated (much like many large Oil & Gas companies), and handle all of the steps in the utilities value stream, from production/generation, to transmission, up to the marketing/sales of energy products. Retail (residential) customers usually pay for energy at a fixed rate, while commercial and industrial customers may have more complex pricing schemes.
Common Energy Retailing job titles: Retail Operations Analyst, Business Development Executive, Energy Trader, Energy Analyst
Energy Transmission & Delivery
The Energy Transmission and Delivery function transmits energy in bulk from power plants or refineries to electrical substations and local distribution companies. Electric power companies produce energy at power plants, and then transmit that energy to substations located in high demand areas for distribution to surrounding homes and businesses. Natural gas providers use a massive system of pipelines and compression stations to move gas from refineries to third-party distributors.
Common Energy Transmission & Delivery job titles: Transmission Systems Operator, Transmission Design Engineer, Energy Scheduler, Transmission Line Engineer, Substation Project Engineer
Lines of Business
Lines of Business (LOB) refers to specific products and services offered by public utilities companies to both individual and commercial clients. Major LOBs typically include Electricity, Waste Management, Water & Sewage and Natural Gas. LOBs are supported by back office staff members, who work to perform non-customer-facing tasks like payment processing, customer service support and payment collection.
Common Lines of Business job titles: Utility Manager, Energy Manager
Electricity
The electric power industry engages in electricity generation and the distribution of electricity for sale, generally in a regulated market. This indusry is commonly split into four processes such as generation (power stations, etc.), electric power transmission, distribution and retailing. Electric utilities include investor owned, publicly owned, cooperatives and nationalized entities, all of which are heavily regulated by the government. Due to the increasing worldwide demand for energy, electric utilities are facing numerous issues including aging infrastructure, reliabiltiy and regulation. Electric utility companies extensively use transmission system networks (electric power lines) to deliver energy to customers through the use of distribution substations (systems that lower the transmission voltage to a medium voltage) and distribution transformers (systems that lowers the medium voltage to a utilization voltage for household use).
Common Electricity job titles: Electricity Utility System Operator, Distribution Specialist, Electric Line Technician, Utility Meter Technician
Natural Gas
The natural gas industry engages in the exploration, extraction, processing, storage and distribution of natural gas for sale in a regulated market. Natural gas production companies range from large integrated producers with worldwide operations and interests in all segments of the oil and gas industry to small one or two person operations that may only have use of a single well. Pipelines spanning hundreds of miles (originating from production or processing plants) and the local distribution companies which own them (they employ ships, truks, etc. to transport liquefied natural gas) are crucial in connecting consumers with their natural gas needs. Pipelines usually use compressor stations to move the gas down interstate pipes and distribution pipes (the pipes that connect customer homes with the main natural gas pipeline). Nearly all aspects of this industry is controversial due to the possibility of environmental disasters and is thus highly regulated.
Common Natural Gas job titles: Utility Meter Technician, Gas Distribution Technician, Gas Leak Surveyor, Distribution Specialist
Waste Management
Waste management involves the collection, removal, processing and disposal of materials considered to be waste (waste materials are usually generated through human activities and can be solid, gaseous, liquid and may even be considered hazardous). There are eight major groups of waste management methods including, source reduction and reuse, animal feeding, recycling, composting, fermentation, landfills, incinceration and land application. Unlike most other types of waste, hazardous waste (biomedical materials, radioactive material, etc.) requires special handling (e.g., placing vats of waste in a secure site deep underground) and is usually frought with controversy. Waste collection methods vary widely among different countries and regions and are often provided by logal government authorities, or by private companies.
Common Waste Management job titles: Plant Maintenance Technician, Waste Driver, Landfill Laborer, Environmental Compliance Coordinator, Heavy Equipment Operator
Water & Sewage
Water and sewage utility companies usually engage in both water management and sewage treatment activities. Though both management methods involve mater treatment plants and strategies, water management systems use water softeners, rainwater harvesting and other methods to collect and cleanse water of extraneous elements (metals, toxic elements, etc.) before distributing it for human usage and consumption. Sewage treatment, on the other hand, involves various processes (physical, chemical and biological) of removing contaminants from wastewater, whether from household or industrial sewage, to produce environmentally safe treated wastewater suitable for disposal (usually into a river or the ocean) or land application. Both water and wastewater management systems exclusively use pipes or the sewage system to transport water to the areas that need it.
Common Water & Sewage job titles: Water Quality Investigator, Water/Wastewater Operator, Environmental Engineer, Water Treatment Specialist, Water/Wastewater Engineer
Production & Generation
The Energy Generation function explores, extracts and transforms sources of energy into electrical and/or natural gas-based power. They construct, develop, manage, and maintain facilities, such as refineries or water power plants, used to produce and refine energy sources before they are transmitted.
Common Production & Generation job titles: Operations Technician, Tank Cleaner, Mechanic, Control Technician, Plant Operator, Field Technician
Renewable Energy
Most utilities companies have an arm devoted solely to researching and developing sustainable sources of energy such as solar, wind and geothermal power. These groups are responsible for designing and constructing sustainable energy systems. They also are tasked with collecting and analyzing data on sustainable energy production, storage and delivery in order to improve the efficiency and viability of renewable energy sources.
Common Renewable Energy job titles: Wind Technician, CAD Operator, Solar Energy Consultant, Energy Management Analyst, Energy Compliance Associate, Surveyors, Excavator
Utilities Customer Service
The Utilities Customer Service function is tasked with responding to work orders, outage reports and other customer requests. Typically, a call center will field customer complaints and requests, then (if necessary) dispatch field operations personnel to resolve the issue. Field operations staff members are also responsible for installing and monitoring energy meters. In order to retain customers, the customer service function develops incentive programs and works with the marketing group to provide a high quality customer experience.
Common Utilities Customer Service job titles: Customer Service Representative, Meter Reader, Field Operations Technician, Field Service Technican