Power Systems Engineer Review

The NESO PSE graduate program has exposed me to multiple business units, so my day-to-day has varied to an extent. Within Balancing Costs, I spent a time analyzing the effect of actions taking in the Balancing Questions and their economic affect, as well as completing an in-depth study of the Capacity & Energy markets, to set myself a good foundation for the rest of my career in NESO. Within RESP, I completed an in depth study on the interface between the Transmission and Distribution Networks, specifically the affects of emerging electricity consumption trends on SuperGrid Transformers. Within Network Access Planning, I deal with system access requests in the South-East of England and London, aiming to deliver the best value options that ensure system reliability.

Hard to list them all. My knowledge of the electricity market has developed significantly. My Excel, VBA and PowerBI skills have developed massively; I can now develop dashboards and deal with complex Excel Sheets. Within RESP, I developed a good understanding of how all the NESO teams and publications all interact and made a document which I distributed to help other colleagues understand their interactions. Within NAP, I developed a detailed understanding of the National Electricity Transmission System in GB, complex system operability issues regarding voltage, frequency and stability, and how to process system access requests.

Varied from placement to placement. Obviously coming into NESO freshly out of University, the responsibility in my first post was limited and it was more about understanding the energy market, however, my responsibilities built rapidly over the 6 months till I was completing jobs that added value to the team. Going into my 2nd placement, again, my responsibilities grew, until finally I reached my final placement, where my roles day-to-day were that of a 'normal' NAP employee, alongside further training and development.

Lots. The early careers team supported me throughout as well as all the team members and managers of all the teams I've been in. The early careers team have been very good in providing us with the soft skills training we need, and within my placement teams, I've learnt more of the industry specific knowledge required to become a successful PSE.

NESO has an excellent culture. The majority of employees are very supportive, even those outside you team, and are willing to support and help you with any questions, training and development. The offices I've worked in (Wokingham and Warwick) always have a friendly atmosphere, and great free coffee machines for that boost early in the morning !

I enjoyed all of my placements thoroughly. They allowed me to meet a lot of people from all areas of the business, and exposed me to lots of different experiences, scenarios, and ways of working.

Yes

Make sure if you're thinking of applying for PSE roles whether you want to work on the system operability side, I.E at NESO, or on the physical infrastructure side, I.E National Grid Group. Do some pre-reading on the company, and make yourself of the current and emerging energy landscape in the UK, not just from an engineering perspective but a political perspective, as politics massively affects the way we work and how we plan for the future !