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Summary

This position is in the Load Forecasting and Analysis (MSL) organization of Customer Support Services (MS), Business Management & Development (M), Chief Operating Officer (K), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA).

The incumbent serves as an expert Load Forecasting Economic Analyst in analysis activities associated with electrical consuming equipment, consumer behaviors and choices associated with economic theory for residential, commercial, industrial and irrigating consumer sectors.

Overview

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Accepting applications
Open & closing dates
04/10/2026 to 04/19/2026
Salary
$80,465 - $149,091 per year
Pay scale & grade
GS 11 - 13
Location
4 vacancies in the following location:
Portland, OR
Remote job
No
Telework eligible
No
Travel Required
Occasional travel - You may be expected to travel for this position.
Relocation expenses reimbursed
No
Appointment type
Permanent
Work schedule
Full-time
Service
Competitive
Promotion potential
13
Job family (Series)
Supervisory status
No
Security clearance
Not Required
Drug test
No
Position sensitivity and risk
Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk
Trust determination process
Financial disclosure
No
Bargaining unit status
No
Announcement number
26-BPA-50467-12932670-DH
Control number
864667000

This job is open to

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Clarification from the agency

This is a Direct Hire Public Notice.

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Duties

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About the Position - Portland
This position is located in Portland, OR which boasts huge spans of amazing trees, foliage, landscape, and everywhere you look you can appreciate beautiful greenery! It is known as the most bike-friendly city in America, has a train system that greets you at the airport spanning across the city, and is home to the Portland International Rose Garden, the oldest in the country! Portland is the one place where you will find lively festivals, energetic music, mouthwatering food, and for you basketball fans, the Portland Trail Blazers are a 7 minute walk from the HQs building! There is always something new to experience in this eco-friendly town!

As an Industry Economist, you will:

  • Initiate, formulate, plan, and execute broad or in-depth economic studies based on analysis of loads associated with a subset of requirements customers (including customers with dispatchable generation), and representing those customers with the most complex issues.
  • Support revenue forecasting, rates, and power and transmission planning, and for interactions with customers regarding these aspects of utility operations.
  • Provide timely and high quality subject matter expertise and support as requested on Customer Core Teams and periodically attending Core Team meetings as needed.
  • Develop load forecasting models for Medium Term (hourly, out 18 months); and, Long-Term (monthly, out 20 years) for the incumbent's assigned customers.
  • Research and analyze regional, market, business entity, or consumer behaviors and actions that drive electricity use on an hourly basis and develop electricity forecasting models that incorporate this information to reflect changing electricity patterns over time and the impact on BPA practices and or policies to drive cost effective and/or efficiency improvements to keep BPA as a low cost provider in the northwest.
  • Provide Customer Service Engineers, system planners, systems operations, and others with timely and high quality load analyses to ensure system availability and reliability and cost-effective capital investments.

Requirements

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Conditions of employment

In accordance with Executive Order 14170, applicants are encouraged to respond to four short, free-response, essay questions in the questionnaire. Answer to these questions is not scored or rated. Your answers will be reviewed by the hiring manager and agency leadership if you are referred for selection consideration.

When you apply you will be asked a series of questions to determine your eligibility for employment and your qualification for this position specifically. You must answer all of these questions completely and truthfully.

Key Requirements:

  • You must be a United States Citizen.
  • This employer participates in the e-Verify program.
  • Males must abide by Selective Service registration requirements.
Conditions of Employment:
  • Suitable for Federal employment, as determined by a background investigation.
  • May be required to successfully complete a probationary period.
  • You will be required to report in person to the official duty location.

Qualifications

BASIC REQUIREMENT:

A. Degree: economics, that included at least 21 semester hours in economics and 3 semester hours in statistics, accounting, or calculus.

- OR -

B. Have a combination of education and experience: courses equivalent to a major in economics, as shown in A above, plus appropriate experience or additional education.

Examples of qualifying experience include:

1. Individual economic research assignments requiring planning, information assembly, analysis and evaluation, conclusions and report preparation;
2. Supervisory or project coordination assignments involving a staff of professional economists, and requiring the evaluation and interpretation of economic information; or
3. Teaching assignments in a college or university that included both class instruction in economics subjects and one of the following (1) personal research that produced evidence of results, (2) direction of graduate theses in economics, or (3) service as a consultant or advisor on technical economics problems.

SPECIALIZED EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:

GS-11:
A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-09, in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience at the GS-11 grade level is defined as: 1) Assisting with economic analysis of electrical consuming equipment, consumer behaviors, and economic theory to support revenue forecasting, rates, and planning across sectors; and 2) Developing and maintaining economic data using secondary research and advanced analytics (e.g., machine learning, statistical modeling) to identify trends, monitor consumption effects, and contribute to load forecasting models.

GS-11: You may substitute education for specialized experience as follows:

  • Three years of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a Ph.D. degree, or Ph.D., or equivalent doctoral degree; your education must demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to do the work.
- OR -
  • Combination of education and experience as described above. Less than one year of specialized experience may be combined with graduate education in excess of the amount required for the next lower grade level (i.e., credit hours beyond the first two years of full-time study may be credited).

GS-12: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-11, in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience at the GS-12 grade level is defined as: 1) Performing economic analysis by evaluating, modeling, and statistically describing how economic factors and choices impact electricity load, creating or verifying models to explain cause-and-effect relationships; and 2) Developing and maintaining economic data using secondary research and advanced analytics (e.g., machine learning, statistical modeling) to identify trends, monitor consumption effects, and recommend model inclusions.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-12 grade level.

GS-13: A qualified candidate's online application and resume must demonstrate at least one year of specialized experience equivalent to the next lower grade level, GS-12, in the Federal service.

Specialized Experience at the GS-13 grade level is defined as: (1) Perform complex economic analysis on varying conditions to track developments affecting related organizations (e.g. regulatory body) and customers with most complex problems, and to enhance reliability of utility services; and (2) Develop database and forecasting models, using existing approaches and by developing novel approaches, to determine load forecasting performance and efficiency, prepare a variety of interpretive reports and make recommendations as required.

There is no substitution of education for experience at the GS-13 grade level.

"Experience" refers to paid and unpaid experience. Examples of qualifying unpaid experience may include: volunteer work done through National Service programs (such as Peace Corps and AmeriCorps); as well as work for other community-based philanthropic and social organizations. Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills; and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date of this announcement.

Education

This vacancy has a positive education requirement. In order to be rated as qualified, you must provide copies of your college transcripts. Education must be obtained from an accredited institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. See Department of Education Accreditation Search to verify school accreditation.

Foreign education must be reviewed by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. For special instructions pertaining to foreign education and a list of organizations that can evaluate foreign education, see the Department of Education website.

DO NOT email or mail in any of your application documents. Documents will not be accepted outside of the online application system.

Failure to provide copies of your college transcripts may result in a rating of "Ineligible".

Additional information

EEO Policy: USAJOBS Help Center | Equal employment opportunity policy

Reasonable Accommodation Policy: Employees or applicants may request Reasonable Accommodation (RA) for assistance, when applying or competing for a job or performing a job due to their medical condition or to exercise their religious beliefs. If you need reasonable accommodation in the application or selection process, please contact the Staffing Specialist listed on this vacancy announcement. USAJOBS Help Center | Reasonable accommodation policy

Reasonable Accommodation for USAHire: If you believe you have a disability (i.e., physical or mental), covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, that would interfere with completing the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, you will be granted the opportunity to request a reasonable accommodation in your online application. Requests for Reasonable Accommodations for the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments and appropriate supporting documentation for Reasonable Accommodation must be received prior to starting the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. Decisions on requests for Reasonable Accommodations are made on a case-by-case basis. If you meet the minimum qualifications of the position, after notification of the adjudication of your request, you will receive an email invitation to complete the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments. You must complete all assessments within 48 hours of receiving the URL to access the USA Hire Competency Based Assessments, if you received the link after the close of the announcement. To determine if you need a Reasonable Accommodation, please review the Procedures for Requesting a Reasonable Accommodation for Online Assessments here.

Veterans Information: USAJOBS Help Center - Veterans
Veterans and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Telework: https://www.opm.gov/telework/

Selective Service Registration: http://www.sss.gov/ - Who must register: https://www.sss.gov/faq/#who-needs-to-register

Hiring incentives may be authorized for a highly qualified candidate based on budget availability and in accordance with federal regulations.

BPA strives to ensure a safe and positive work environment.

We also understand the importance of work/life balance and offer a variety of programs and policies designed to create more flexible, responsive work environments supportive of commitments to community, home and family members. BPA also supports employees' overall wellness through its Be Well program, which helps employees adopt healthier lifestyles and feel better about their work/life balance. The program supports five key areas of life: career, community, financial, physical and social.?

Candidates should be committed to improving the efficiency of the Federal government, passionate about the ideals of our American republic, and committed to upholding the rule of law and the United States Constitution.

How you will be evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

This position is announced under a government-wide Direct-Hire Authority (DHA) for Industry Economist positions in the 0110 series. Under the DHA, all applicants who meet the Education and Qualification requirements listed in this announcement, at the grade level they are applying, will be forwarded to the Selecting Official for consideration. Veteran's Preference, category rating, and traditional rating and ranking of applicants does not apply under the DHA process.

Minimum Qualifications: Once the application process is complete, the Human Resources Offices or Subject Matter Expert (SME) will review your two-page resume and supporting documentation to determine whether you meet the minimum job qualifications.

If your resume is incomplete or does not support the responses you provided in your online questionnaire, or if you fail to submit all required documentation before the vacancy closes, you may be rated 'ineligible' or 'not qualified'.

Your qualifications will be evaluated on the following competencies (knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics):

  • Arithmetic/Mathematical Reasoning
  • Attention to Detail
  • Decision Making
  • Flexibility
  • Integrity/Honesty
  • Interpersonal Skills
  • Learning
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Self-Management
  • Teamwork


If you are eligible for career transition assistance plans such as ICTAP or CTAP, you must meet the Education and Qualification requirements listed in this announcement to be referred for consideration.

You must meet all qualifications and eligibility requirements by the closing date (04/19/2026) of this announcement.

To preview the Assessment Questionnaire, click https://apply.usastaffing.gov/ViewQuestionnaire/12932670

Bonneville Power Administration

We are truly honored that DOE has been named America's #1 Best Employer for Veterans in 2023 by Forbes-not only among Government agencies, but among employers across the U.S. We are so proud of this ranking which reflects our commitment to the employment of veterans. As so many veterans at DOE renew their service to our Nation, we are deeply committed to their success and advancement. Veterans shape the future of energy

The Bonneville Power Administration is a nonprofit federal power marketing administration based in the Pacific Northwest. Although BPA is part of the U.S. Department of Energy, it is self-funding and covers its costs by selling its products and services. BPA markets wholesale electrical power from 31 federal hydroelectric projects in the Northwest, one nonfederal nuclear plant and several small nonfederal power plants.



Agency contact information

Wilson Bowlby
Phone
5032303117
Email
wjbowlby@bpa.gov
Address
Bonneville Power Administration
P.O. Box 3621
Portland, OR 97208
US

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