Congestion Analyst
Location: Houston, TX
Department: Power Trading
Employment Type: Full-Time
About the Role
We are seeking a highly motivated FTR Trading Analyst / Congestion Analyst to join our Houston-based power trading team with a primary focus on the PJM ISO. In this role, you will support our FTR (Financial Transmission Rights), virtual trading, and congestion strategies by analyzing market fundamentals, grid congestion patterns, historical flows, and pricing outcomes. You will work directly with senior traders to generate trade ideas, enhance forecasting models, and optimize portfolio performance.
This position is ideal for candidates who are analytical, detail-oriented, and passionate about wholesale power markets and quantitative problem-solving.
Key Responsibilities
Market Analysis & Modeling
- Analyze PJM congestion patterns, transmission constraints, outage impacts, and LMP/ARR/FTR market dynamics.
- Build, maintain, and enhance models for forecasting congestion, FTR valuations, load/demand patterns, and grid flows.
- Monitor and interpret system conditions, including planned and unplanned transmission outages, generation fleet changes, fuel markets, and regulatory updates.
Trade Support & Idea Generation
- Support the development of FTR auction strategies, including monthly, annual, and long-term auctions.
- Evaluate the profitability of existing congestion positions and identify opportunities to optimize or rebalance.
- Assist traders in analyzing historical and forward market data to produce actionable trade recommendations.
Data & Tools
- Manage and automate data pipelines from PJM, vendor feeds, ISO publications, and internal systems.
- Develop dashboards and reports to visualize congestion drivers, constraint shifts, and portfolio performance.
- Utilize programming tools (Python, SQL, R, or similar) to analyze large datasets and improve model accuracy.
Risk & Portfolio Management
- Track portfolio exposures, settlement results, and risk metrics related to FTRs, TCRs, and congestion positions.
- Ensure positions align with risk limits and support post-trade analytics.
- Diagnose settlement discrepancies and validate auction or market results.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Partner with real-time and day-ahead traders to incorporate operational insights into congestion expectations.
- Work closely with risk, tech, and data teams to improve systems, workflows, and analytical tools.
- Communicate market insights and trade rationales to senior trading leadership.
Qualifications
Required
- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Finance, Economics, Mathematics, Statistics, or a related quantitative discipline.
- Strong understanding of power markets, ideally with experience or knowledge of PJM.
- Proficiency in data analysis tools such as Python, SQL, Excel, R, or MATLAB.
- Ability to work in a fast-paced, detail-critical trading environment.
- Strong analytical problem-solving and quantitative modeling skills.
Preferred
- 1-5 years of experience in power trading, congestion analysis, FTRs, or ISO/RTO analytics.
- Familiarity with PJM tools and processes (e.g., eRPM, Data Miner, FTR models, outage schedules).
- Experience with nodal markets, LMP decomposition, and transmission analysis.
- Knowledge of power system fundamentals (flowgates, topology, outages, SCED, transmission planning).
FAQs
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