Our client is looking for an Analyst on System Flexibility Service

Mission Description

Excited to work on a project for a key Belgian player in the energy landscape?

The Belgian and European energy landscape is in full swing. Did you know that our client in the energy sector plays a crucial role in this?

As part of a European transmission system operator, our client ensures the reliability and sustainability of the electricity supply in our country.

Side-by-side with other Contingent Workers and internal staff, you will play a part in building a sustainable, green and reliable energy infrastructure that stimulates economic growth and reduces our ecological footprint.

Only together can we make the biggest impact possible! We believe in the power of diversity: we are convinced that an inclusive and diverse work environment leads to more innovation, creativity and better results.

Service Description

The proper functioning of the electricity market is one of the key elements in the energy transition. Our client plays a central role in facilitating the market and is responsible, among other things, for numerous services designed to ensure reliable operation of the electricity system. A crucial facilitator is flexibility referring to the extent to which a power system can modify electricity production or consumption in response to variability, expected or otherwise.

Within the Customers department, the Flexibility Studies team is responsible to assess the flexibility needs and flexibility ressources (storage, generation, demand response) of the system by means. One of their activities is to quantify the current installed, unlocked and available flexibility delivered per technology, voltage level and product type. This initiative is referred internally to as the “Flexibility Track and Trace Initiative”. The results are used to:

• Improve our client’s long-term projections on adequacy, flexibility and balancing needs
• Improve our client’s short-term forecasts on flexibility shortages and mitigation measures
• Provide strategy recommendations on the development of flexibility

The initiative was launched in 2024 to enhance our client’s ability to systematically monitor and predict flexibility of our system across various future time horizons. This requires to gather flexibility information from assets on the High voltage Grid, as well as the Medium and Low voltage DSO grid. The latter will require collaboration with DSOs and market players.

Our client needs to accumulate information on load and/or flexibility capabilities from Electric Vehicles, Batteries, Heat Pumps, and Photovoltaics but also from industrial processes (electric boilers, heat pumps, electric ovens) on high, medium and low voltage grids. This entails on the one hand their participtation in our client’s balancing services via activation signals, and on the other hand reaction on price signals given by day-ahead, intra-day and balancing markets.

Our client is now looking for an experienced analyst to join the Flexibility Track and Trace Initiative. Within the team (consisting of two junior analysts and a manager) The consultant will contribute both to the project management and the analysis of flexibility in the system.

On the one hand, you will contribute to gathering, analyzing and disseminating information on flexibility provided by all technologies on all voltage levels and regions in Belgium, such as the number of installed flexible assets (heat pumps, electric cars, home batteries,…), the number of these assets that are effectively capable of responding or or already effectively responding to a price (dynamic tariffs) or other signals (capacity tariffs) and the profiles with which these assets can respond.

• The consultant will be expected to develop and execute strategies to seek information through desktop research (regulators' websites…), contacting market parties (distribution system operators, sector federations…) or devising and working out inventive ways to retrieve unavailable information.
• The consultant will be expected to conduct analyses on available time series of grid user consumption data (including data from smart meters), renewable energy forecast errors, market player behavior (nominations and their adjustments) and system imbalances. The consultant can apply basic statistical analysis and machine learning techniques where needed.
• The consultant will be expected to translate results and insigts translate results and insights into clear presentations / communications for internal and external audiences, as well as support the development of resulting applications or tools with relevant IT departments.

On the other hand, you will also be expected to contribute to project management and follow up on the Flexibility Track and Trace Initiative (scope, timing, budget, resources, communication plan), as well as manage the interactions with the involved departments (grid development, market development and the system opetation department / control center).

The time spend on analysis, and project management is expected to be 50/50. The duties of the analysis on system flexibility include:

• (support) gathering information on available flexibility through various channels (desktop research, interviews, data analysis, estimation methods);
• (support) the developing and conducting data analysis on smart metering data (consumer offtake and injections) as well as determining the relationship with system conditions, seasonality or other drivers.
• Forsee the communication and dissemination of results and insights for different target audiences (experts, management, external).
• Translate results and insights:
  • into tools and applications and guide the development with IT departments.
  • into strategic recommendations and discussion with market departments
  • into inputs for scenarios and discuss with grid study departments.
• Manage the implementation and growth of the “Flexibility Track & Trace Initiative” in close collaboration with different business experts, analysts, and IT.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure the program's objectives align with our client’s overall strategic goals. Oversee the systematic monitoring process, ensuring data accuracy and timeliness.
• Report program progress/deliverables to the different management and governance bodies. Identify opportunities for process improvement within the program.

Requirements

• You have at least 3-5 years of relevant experience.
• You are fluent in English, Dutch or French and have an adequate knowledge of the other languages. You can communicate fluently in English orally and in writing.
• You preferably have a master's degree in engineering, commercial engineering or economics with a large interest in working in a technical environment;
• You have a keen interest in the energy sector, understand the global workings of the energy market and preferably have several years of experience in the electricity market.
• You have a strong, analytical mind and can master and understand complex processes. You can translate an abstract strategic objective into realistic solutions.
• You can translate a question into a quantitative analysis or approach. You are strongly driven by facts and figures, and you can support your reasoning in a clear way using quantitative results.
• You have sufficient knowledge and experience regarding statistical methods (e.g. machine learning) to perform analysis on large data sets;
• You have interest and experience in performing calculations in Excel, and where necessary you are willing to work with Python or similar programming languages. You also have a good knowledge of Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
• You can combine different types of tasks (from operational to conceptual) and organize yourself autonomously around different tasks. You can distinguish priorities well.
• You learn quickly, with a proactive and positive attitude. You can focus on details without losing sight of the overall picture and deliver flawless work.
• You have excellent organizational and project management abilities. You can take steering action within a project, also with a view to concrete implementation. Ability to work collaboratively with diverse teams
• You like teamwork, you are results oriented. You possess a fluent communication style

Additional Information

Location: Brussels – City Center
Onsite presence: Our client’s remote work policy is applicable to the delivery of the service.
Work regime: Fulltime

Important – Non-EU Candidates

For non-EU candidates, please present candidates who comply with the following criteria:

• Possess a work permit allowing the individual to work in Belgium.
• Hold a valid residence permit confirming the right of residence in Belgium.