Accounting Rate Analyst (Utility Rate Analyst)

The Public Service Commission seeks a regulatory accounting, financial, or economic professional to aid our agency in exercising oversight of some of the largest essential industries within Montana to ensure fair prices, responsible business practices, and reliable services for Montana customers who rely upon them. This position offers a unique opportunity to work with an innovative state agency. The successful candidate will join our team of Public Utility Rate Analysts who find the work to be interesting, meaningful, and critical to our agency’s goal of serving the citizens of Montana extraordinarily well.

Duties:

• Applies accounting, finance, and business management methods for evaluating and regulating a wide range of public utility matters, including emerging technology.
• Provides advice and recommendations regarding accounting, financial, technical, operational, and policy issues related to the regulation of public utilities.
• Analyzes and evaluates utility rate applications and other regulatory filings, and issues financial, accounting, and business perspectives to determine the reasonableness of revenue requests, capital structures, rates of return, depreciation rates, expense items, rate designs and other proposals.
• Examines rate increase requests and other filings for compliance with utility accounting standards established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”).
• Assists in the discovery process as appropriate in contested case proceedings.
• Prepares questions and information for the cross-examination of utility and intervener witnesses for rate hearings.
• Audits utility financial records and information.
• Prepares documents that summarize testimony and issues that may be examined during public hearings; analyzes record evidence. Formulates conclusions and recommendations on ratemaking and policy issues; and presents recommendations in writing and verbally at Commission business meetings and work sessions.
• Prepares reports to support analysis and assists in preparing Commission orders and notices. 
• Assists in the ongoing process of reviewing agency regulations and, when appropriate, implementing revised or new regulations.
• Assesses the regulatory impacts of draft legislation and as directed by the Commission, represents the Commission in outside proceedings.

Required Application Materials:

A completed Montana state application.
A cover letter describing how your professional career, experience, and education prepared you to meet the requirements of this position.
A resume detailing relevant work experience including employer, dates of employment (month & year-start & end), and reason for leaving.
All applicants selected for interviews will be required to submit educational certificates.