Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Utility Compliance Officer

🎯 Role Definition

The Utility Compliance Officer is a subject-matter expert responsible for designing, implementing and maintaining a robust regulatory compliance program across utility operations (electric, gas, water or wastewater). This role ensures adherence to federal, state and local regulations (EPA, FERC, NERC, OSHA and state public utility commissions), manages permits and regulatory filings, leads audits and inspections, drives corrective actions, and partners with operations, engineering, legal and regulatory affairs to reduce risk and protect the utility’s license to operate. Ideal candidates have a strong background in regulatory frameworks, audit and inspection experience, permit and reporting lifecycle knowledge, and proven cross-functional influence.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Compliance Analyst / Compliance Specialist
Environmental Health & Safety (EHS) Specialist
Regulatory Affairs Analyst

Advancement To:

Senior Utility Compliance Officer / Compliance Manager
Director of Regulatory & Compliance Affairs
Vice President / Chief Compliance Officer (utility sector)

Lateral Moves:

Regulatory Affairs Manager
Environmental Permitting Manager
Reliability or NERC Compliance Specialist

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, implement and maintain a comprehensive compliance management program for utility operations that ensures continuous adherence to federal, state and local regulatory requirements (e.g., EPA, FERC, NERC, OSHA, state public utility commissions), including policy development, process controls and corrective action tracking.
Monitor and interpret changes in regulatory statutes, rules, permits and industry standards affecting electric, gas, water and wastewater operations; assess operational impacts and lead cross-functional implementation plans to maintain compliance.
Prepare, review and submit timely regulatory filings, permit applications, renewals and required reports (emissions, discharge, reliability, incident, and safety reporting), including compiling technical attachments and coordinating internal approvals.
Lead planning and execution of internal and external compliance audits and inspections, coordinate third-party audits, document findings, perform root cause analyses and drive remediation plans to closure with owners and timelines.
Serve as primary company liaison during regulatory agency inspections, investigations, Notices of Violation, enforcement actions and compliance meetings, preparing briefing materials, responses and negotiation strategies as needed.
Manage permit lifecycles: assess permit applicability, draft and submit applications, implement permit conditions, ensure monitoring and sampling requirements are met, and maintain documentation to demonstrate compliance.
Design and deliver compliance training programs for operations, maintenance, engineering and corporate staff; maintain training records, measure effectiveness and update curricula based on regulatory changes and audit findings.
Conduct compliance risk assessments and operational vulnerability analyses across business units; prioritize risks, recommend controls, and maintain a risk register with mitigation plans and progress reporting to senior leadership.
Oversee environmental monitoring and sampling programs (air emissions, water discharges, stormwater, waste characterization); coordinate laboratory services, validate analytical data and ensure accurate regulatory submittals.
Manage and maintain compliance-related documentation and records (permits, sampling data, inspection logs, corrective action records) using document control systems to ensure audit-ready status and legal defensibility.
Lead cross-functional project teams to implement engineering, operational or administrative corrective actions required for regulatory compliance, including capital project coordination and contractor oversight.
Draft, revise and enforce company policies, standard operating procedures (SOPs) and compliance manuals to align operations with statutory and permit obligations and industry best practices.
Develop and maintain compliance dashboards, key performance indicators (KPIs) and executive reports that track audit results, permit status, enforcement exposure and remediation progress for senior management and boards.
Coordinate incident response and reporting for compliance-related events (spills, releases, safety incidents, reliability events), lead incident investigations, conduct root cause analysis and implement corrective & preventive actions.
Prepare regulatory impact analyses and budget justifications for compliance-driven projects, equipment upgrades and monitoring programs; present business cases to finance and executive stakeholders.
Manage contractor and vendor compliance obligations including drafting contract clauses, performing pre-qualification checks, monitoring performance and ensuring subcontractors meet regulatory requirements on site.
Support rate cases, regulatory proceedings and external stakeholder engagements by providing technical and compliance inputs, preparing exhibits and ensuring factual accuracy of submissions.
Implement and maintain compliance management tools and permit tracking systems (e.g., Enablon, Intelex, SharePoint-based trackers), ensuring data integrity and accessibility for audits and regulatory reporting.
Provide regulatory guidance and technical support during project design reviews, construction phases and commissioning to integrate permit and compliance requirements early in project lifecycles.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry best practices and emerging compliance technologies; represent the company in industry working groups, associations and regulatory stakeholder forums.
Facilitate cross-functional collaboration among operations, engineering, legal, communications and finance teams to enable unified responses to regulatory changes, audits and enforcement matters.
Conduct periodic third-party compliance assessments and benchmarking against peer utilities to identify gaps, efficiency opportunities and innovations in compliance delivery.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc compliance data requests, prepare datasets for regulators or internal stakeholders and perform exploratory analysis to inform corrective actions and executive decisions.
Contribute to the organization’s compliance strategy and roadmap by researching emerging regulations, technologies and process improvements that reduce risk and cost.
Collaborate with business units to translate regulatory requirements into implementable operational controls, work instructions and engineering specifications.
Participate in project planning, budget reviews and risk discussions to ensure compliance obligations are embedded into business plans and capital projects.
Assist legal and communications teams with preparation of external correspondence, remediation commitments and public disclosures related to compliance matters.
Support continuous improvement initiatives by documenting lessons learned from audits and incidents and updating processes to prevent recurrence.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strong knowledge of utility regulatory frameworks and statutes (EPA environmental regulations, FERC rules, NERC reliability standards, OSHA safety regulations, and state public utility commission requirements).
Permit writing and permit management experience (air, water, stormwater, wastewater, emissions, hazardous waste).
Audit and inspection management skills including internal audit execution, third-party audit coordination, and corrective action tracking.
Environmental monitoring and sampling program experience; ability to interpret laboratory data and ensure data quality objectives are met.
Regulatory reporting and filing expertise, including incident reporting, emissions inventories, and compliance certifications.
Compliance management system and software proficiency (e.g., Enablon, Intelex, Gensuite, SharePoint permit trackers).
Risk assessment, root cause analysis and remediation planning expertise (e.g., FMEA, 5-Why, RCA techniques).
Familiarity with utility operational systems and engineering concepts (distribution/transmission operations, water/wastewater treatment processes).
Strong technical writing skills for drafting permits, policies, audit reports, and regulatory responses.
Project management skills to oversee compliance projects, capital upgrades and remediation work.
Data analysis and reporting skills using Excel, Power BI/Tableau or equivalent reporting tools; basic SQL is a plus.
Knowledge of contract language for regulatory obligations and vendor compliance monitoring.
Certifications desirable: Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional (CCEP), ISO 14001 Lead Auditor, NERC CIP Certification, or relevant EHS / environmental certifications.

Soft Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication; able to translate technical/regulatory language for non-technical stakeholders.
Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across operations, engineering, legal and senior leadership.
Meticulous attention to detail and high level of accuracy in documentation and reporting.
Problem solving and analytical thinking, with the ability to drive root cause analysis and corrective action.
Organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple compliance portfolios and deadlines simultaneously.
Leadership and team collaboration; ability to lead cross-functional teams without direct authority.
Sound judgment and ethical decision-making when navigating regulatory risk and enforcement exposure.
Adaptability and resilience in fast-changing regulatory environments and during incident response.
Training and coaching ability to upskill field and office personnel on compliance obligations.
Negotiation and conflict resolution skills for interactions with regulators, contractors and internal stakeholders.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science, Environmental Engineering, Chemical/Civil Engineering, Regulatory Affairs, Occupational Health & Safety, Public Policy, or related technical discipline.

Preferred Education:

Master’s degree in Environmental Management, Public Administration, Engineering or a Juris Doctor (JD) with regulatory experience is advantageous.
Professional certifications such as CCEP, NEBOSH, ISO 14001 Lead Auditor, or NERC compliance credentials are highly desirable.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Environmental Science / Environmental Engineering
Civil, Chemical or Electrical Engineering
Regulatory Affairs, Public Policy or Environmental Law
Occupational Health & Safety / Industrial Hygiene

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

3–7 years of progressive professional experience in regulatory compliance, environmental, safety, or utility operations.

Preferred:

5–10+ years of direct experience in utility compliance (electric, gas, water or wastewater) including permit management, regulatory filings, audits, and agency engagement.
Demonstrated experience managing complex compliance programs, working with federal/state regulators, and leading multi-disciplinary remediation projects.