Employee Spotlight
Will Taylor
Title: Associate Rate Specialist
Unit: Clean and Affordable Energy
What does your job entail?
My job entails many facets, letting me put on a bunch of different caps, ranging from researcher to financial analyst, and writer.
As an Associate Rate Specialist, one of my core responsibilities is helping to draft various documents to implement statutes from the state's General Assembly regarding clean and affordable energy. Another core responsibility of mine is to perform research to develop bodies of evidence to inform decisions that PURA makes. Outside of those responsibilities, I get to work on some fascinating projects. One of the projects I am currently working on is developing tools to improve the quantification of the benefits to ratepayers from all the state’s clean energy programs. Another project I am working on is building a time-series forecasting tool to model how changes in incentives and economic conditions affects solar deployment.
However, if I were to summarize my job in one sentence, I would say the most important aspect of my role is to be a critical thinker, to ask the right questions, and obtain the right data, in order to make informed decisions to benefit ratepayers while helping to achieve the state’s decarbonization goals.
How has your role evolved since you joined PURA in 2021?
My role has evolved in about the best ways I could have imagined. I’ve been able to expand the breadth of my work to be involved with topics I am interested in, including solar energy, battery storage, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, and developing analytics and reports to track the progress of clean energy deployment.
What encouraged you to pursue a career in state service?
There were a few things that encouraged me to pursue a career in state service. First, is that I think the field of clean, renewable, and affordable energy is one of the more captivating and impactful spaces to work in terms of creating a better future. Second, I get to solve problems that benefit the people of Connecticut, which I find to be a particularly fulfilling experience.
You recently earned a PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Connecticut. Why did you choose that field of study, and how can your academic experience be applied at PURA?
Prior to my PhD I was a mechanical design engineer with a Master’s Degree in Analytics and Project Management. I wanted to turn my career toward a field where I could make an impact in finding solutions for broader, bigger picture problems. Ultimately, I chose environmental engineering to get involved in the renewable energy space (which I since have in my work at PURA) while being able to leverage my engineering, analytics, and data science skills. In my PhD I did a substantial amount of work pertaining to using machine learning and statistical models to evaluate the impacts of natural hazards and the effectiveness of potential resilience measures. Broadly, I have found the research, writing, and modeling skills extremely useful in my work at PURA. Notably, I have been able to use some of my modeling and analytics skills to help develop new tools and reports in my time at PURA.
What’s the best advice you can give to someone considering a career in utility regulation?
Reach out! Utility regulation requires problem solving amongst a talented group of people with a broad collection of knowledge and skills. If you are interested in a career in regulation, the first step is as simple as having a conversation with someone already working in the space.
What do you like to do in Connecticut when you aren’t working?
When I am not working, I enjoy hiking, skiing, playing tennis, and spending time with family and friends.
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Hear more from our staff, including Danielle, a Research Analyst, who supports renewable energy and affordability-related programs overseen by PURA.
Visit the Job Openings site for a list of career opportunities at PURA