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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Utility Coordinator

💰 $ - $

UtilitiesOperationsFacilities Management

🎯 Role Definition

The Utility Coordinator oversees the day-to-day administration of utility services — including electric, gas, water, sewer, steam, and waste — for commercial, municipal, or campus facilities. This role ensures accurate billing and meter data, coordinates new service and disconnections, negotiates and manages contracts with utility providers and vendors, monitors consumption and cost trends, supports outage and emergency response, and implements efficiency and cost-control initiatives. The Utility Coordinator acts as the central point of contact between internal operations teams, property managers, finance, vendors, and external utility companies to maintain reliable service and regulatory compliance.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Utility Clerk / Billing Clerk
  • Facilities Technician / Maintenance Technician
  • Administrative Coordinator (Facilities/Operations)

Advancement To:

  • Utility Manager / Utilities Supervisor
  • Facilities Manager / Building Operations Manager
  • Energy Manager / Sustainability Manager
  • Operations Manager

Lateral Moves:

  • Metering Specialist / Meter Technician
  • Utility Billing Analyst
  • Contract Administrator / Procurement Specialist
  • Energy Analyst

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Manage and maintain all utility accounts across multiple sites: open and close accounts, assign meters, verify billing account numbers, and ensure accurate account holder information with municipal and investor-owned utilities.
  • Review, reconcile, and process monthly utility invoices and statements, identify billing errors or rate discrepancies, and coordinate corrections with utility providers and accounting teams to prevent overcharges.
  • Maintain detailed utility cost and consumption records, using spreadsheets and utility management software to track historical trends, prepare monthly variance reports, and forecast future energy expenditures.
  • Lead meter change-outs, meter testing, and meter data validation activities; coordinate with field technicians and third-party metering vendors to ensure accurate metering and resolve non-conforming readings.
  • Coordinate new service installations, relocations, and disconnections with utilities and contractors, ensuring permits, site access, and scheduling are completed to meet project timelines and safety requirements.
  • Serve as the primary liaison for utility outage coordination: notify stakeholders, engage response teams, communicate with utility providers, and document incident resolution and lessons learned.
  • Negotiate service agreements, utility tariffs, demand charges, and rate structures with external providers to obtain favorable terms and reduce ongoing utility expense.
  • Administer utility-related contracts and work orders for vendors and subcontractors, track service level agreements (SLAs), inspect performance, and process change orders and invoices.
  • Implement and support energy conservation measures by analyzing consumption profiles, identifying efficiency opportunities, and coordinating capital or operational projects with engineering and facilities teams.
  • Use energy management systems (EMS), building automation systems (BAS), or metering platforms to analyze interval data, validate savings from projects, and generate automated alerts for abnormal usage or potential leaks.
  • Prepare and present monthly utility summaries and KPI dashboards to stakeholders, including consumption intensity, cost per square foot, peak demand events, and variance-to-budget analyses.
  • Ensure regulatory compliance with local, state, and federal utility regulations; prepare documentation for audits, regulatory filings, and rebate or incentive program applications.
  • Process and reconcile utility deposits, ESCO (energy service company) billing, and third-party chargebacks; maintain accurate records for chargeback allocations to tenants, departments, or cost centers.
  • Coordinate sub-metering programs and tenant billing processes, including meter reading schedules, allocation methods, lease-based billing rules, and dispute resolution with tenants.
  • Support capital planning by providing utility-related input for project scopes, estimated operating cost impacts, and life-cycle cost analysis for equipment replacements and energy projects.
  • Maintain and update asset records for utility infrastructure (meters, transformers, risers, vaults) including installation dates, serial numbers, calibration logs, and scheduled maintenance to support lifecycle management.
  • Develop and maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) and internal controls for utility procurement, invoice approval workflows, and meter management to reduce errors and improve audit readiness.
  • Monitor and administer utility rebates, incentives, and demand-response program enrollments; prepare documentation for incentive claims and liaise with program administrators to capture available savings.
  • Investigate and resolve billing disputes and consumption anomalies by performing site audits, on-site inspections, and coordinating cross-functional troubleshooting with maintenance and engineering teams.
  • Maintain GIS, CMMS, or asset management entries related to utility infrastructure; ensure spatial and service-level data are current to support outage response and asset planning.
  • Train and advise internal teams and site personnel on tenant-metering protocols, energy conservation best practices, and how to report utility issues and emergencies.
  • Coordinate with finance to support budget preparation, month-end close activities related to utility expense accruals, and to implement cost allocation methodologies that align with organizational accounting practices.
  • Evaluate and support the deployment of new utility technologies such as AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure), interval data loggers, and cloud-based utility analytics platforms to improve data granularity and decision-making.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc utility data requests and exploratory consumption analyses to inform short-term operational decisions and capital requests.
  • Contribute to the organization's energy strategy, identifying initiatives that align with sustainability goals, carbon reduction plans, and cost-saving targets.
  • Collaborate with business units (finance, property management, engineering) to translate utility requirements into procurement specifications, work orders, and vendor contracts.
  • Participate in project planning meetings, vendor evaluations, and construction coordination to ensure utility impacts and requirements are incorporated into schedules and scopes.
  • Assist with emergency preparedness drills related to utilities and participate in internal incident reviews to improve future response and communication.
  • Provide cross-training for facilities staff on basic meter troubleshooting, reading protocols, and documentation standards to support continuity of operations.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Utility billing systems and invoice reconciliation (experience with utility bill processing platforms such as EnergyCAP, Lucid, or UMM).
  • Metering fundamentals, AMI/AMR technologies, and experience coordinating meter installations and calibration.
  • Proficiency with data analysis and spreadsheet modeling (advanced Excel: pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, Power Query).
  • Familiarity with Energy Management Systems (EMS), Building Automation Systems (BAS), and interval data analysis.
  • Experience with CMMS, asset management systems, or GIS for tracking utility infrastructure and work orders.
  • Knowledge of utility rate structures, demand charges, time-of-use pricing, and tariff evaluation methodologies.
  • Procurement and contract administration skills for negotiating service agreements, vendor SLAs, and change orders.
  • Basic electrical and mechanical terminology and the ability to read site plans, single-line diagrams, and meter wiring schematics.
  • Experience with utility rebate/incentive programs, demand-response participation, and rebate application processes.
  • Familiarity with regulatory compliance, permitting requirements, and documentation for municipal utilities and state energy programs.
  • Experience with enterprise systems integration (SAP, Oracle, Yardi) for chargebacks and financial reconciliation is a plus.
  • Working knowledge of safety procedures and permit-to-work systems for coordination of field crews and contractors.

Soft Skills

  • Clear and professional communication: able to coordinate across technical teams, vendors, finance, and external utilities.
  • Strong analytical mindset with attention to detail for investigating billing anomalies and validating consumption data.
  • Project coordination and time management: manage multiple service orders, permit timelines, and vendor schedules simultaneously.
  • Negotiation and vendor-management skills to secure favorable terms and ensure supplier performance.
  • Customer-service orientation when resolving tenant or internal stakeholder billing disputes and questions.
  • Problem-solving and troubleshooting aptitude during outages, abnormal consumption events, or meter failures.
  • Adaptability and resilience in fast-paced operations and emergency response situations.
  • Documentation and process-orientation to maintain SOPs, audit trails, and reliable records.
  • Collaborative team player who can train others and build relationships across departments.
  • Ethical judgment and confidentiality when handling billing data and financial records.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • High School Diploma or equivalent, plus relevant on-the-job experience in utilities, operations, or facilities.

Preferred Education:

  • Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Facilities Management, Mechanical/Electrical Engineering, Energy Management, Environmental Science, or a related field.

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Facilities Management
  • Mechanical or Electrical Engineering
  • Energy Management / Sustainability
  • Business Administration / Finance
  • Environmental Science

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

  • 2–5 years of progressive experience in utility coordination, facilities operations, utility billing, or energy management.

Preferred:

  • 3–7 years’ experience managing multi-site utility portfolios, metering programs, or working directly with municipal and investor-owned utilities; demonstrated experience with utility management software and contract administration.

Recommended certifications or training (preferred but not required): Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Facility Management Professional (FMP), certification in utility billing systems, OSHA 10/30 for contractors coordination, or vendor/utility-specific training programs.

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