Undergraduate Power System Engineer Electricity System Operator

Have you ever wondered how we keep the electricity flowing and the lights on for all electricity consumers in Great Britain? If so, join us during your penultimate year at university and you could support National Grid as an Industrial Placement Power System Engineer within the Electricity System Operator. You will gain first-hand experience from a core team who are working to operate a carbon free electricity system by 2025.

As a technical undergraduate you will be contributing to developing the future system and procedures. Subject to the interests of the individual and the requirements of the team, opportunities may include developing and informing our understanding of future challenges and potential solutions in technical, economic and market fronts.

What you'll need

You'll need to be on track to achieve a 2.2 or above in one of the follow degree disciplines:

• Electrical/Electronic Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Maths
• Physics

You must also be in your penultimate year at university.

Key tasks and responsibilities

Supporting system operability assessments and innovation projects in areas such as:

• Frequency management (e.g. system inertia and frequency response)
• Voltage management (e.g. static vs. dynamic future control requirements)

Regional development programme.

• Consider the impact of whole system changes on future system operation given future developments in the generation, demand and networks. This will involve working with wider industry stakeholders to find

Economic assessment.

• One of the key responsibilities of ESO is to make sure the solutions developed to manage the future electricity system is value for money from an end consumer perspective. The task will involve a wider understanding of future energy scenarios and current and future energy market conditions.

Build and maintain offline power system model.

• NGESO maintains an offline version of the GB electricity system in DigSILENT Power Factory. The task will involve keeping it up to date and validating addition/changes etc. to the model.

Support the Customer Connections process:

• NGESO is responsible for reviewing TO connection designs and producing customer offers, particularly the construction agreements and technical appendices
• CION process – support offshore and interconnector customers to find the most optimum connection point

Generator connection assessment and compliance procedure.

What You'll Get

Every year, we recruit dozens of people to join us. April 2021 marks the start of our new regulatory period in which we have committed to delivering a significant number of new and ambitious deliverables for the energy industry. In September 2022, we will be looking for our new wave of apprentices, undergraduates and graduates. This is your chance to begin a career that will put you right at the heart of solving the climate change challenge.

Whatever your specific responsibilities, you'll be surrounded by the leading experts in the industry who are solving some of the biggest energy challenges we have ever seen. The knowledge and understanding of how we keep the lights on that can be understood only within the Electricity System Operator have been the foundations for the careers of many of our company leaders.

You will receive a starting salary of £20,212 during your industrial placement as well as 25 days' holiday and close mentoring and feedback to ensure you get the most out of your placement. Best of all, if you have delivered excellent performance during your placement you may be offered an opportunity on our Graduate Development Programme at the start of your final year; leaving you free to concentrate on achieving that all important grade.

About Us

The System Operator ensures that Great Britain’s gas and electricity is transported safely and efficiently from where it is produced to where it is consumed, balancing supply and demand in real time. As a separate company within the National Grid Group, the Electricity System Operator is neutral within industry and able to facilitate market-based solutions that deliver value for consumers. We work with our customers and stakeholders to shape the future of the energy market, providing analysis and insight into the changing nature of energy in the UK, we don’t generate or sell energy – we join the dots to get energy from A to B. From making a cup of tea in the morning, to keeping the lights on in hospitals, our electricity network puts power in the hands of people. Without it, the world as we know it would grind to a halt.

The world of energy is changing beyond recognition. Working at National Grid ESO, you won’t just be touching the lives of almost everyone in the UK – you’ll be shaping the way we use and consume energy for generations to come.

Our values and principles

At National Grid ESO, through listening to what our customers need, every day we do the right thing and find a better way. 

As a National Grid ESO employee, you’ll treat our customers as a priority, taking time to listen and work with them to help give them the best experience we possibly can. You’ll need to be proactive and flexible in your approach and continually look for ways to exceed their expectations – sometimes in unexpected and helpful ways. You’ll provide accessible information when our customers need it and make things simple by using your expertise to guide them. Above all, you’ll follow through on your promises to deliver value, drive efficiency and give them a great customer experience. 

We offer inclusion and diversity training for everyone here at National Grid ESO, with a view to building an inclusive working environment and developing all our employees. Training opportunities range from unconscious bias and reverse mentoring to targeted training initiatives which are tailored to support our diverse and innovative work force