Student Intern II, Commercial Program Analysis (Palo Alto)

Final Filing Date: First review of applications will be on April 16, 2025.

This is a 12-week internship with a flexible start date. The City prefers the intern to be in the office 2-3 days a week. A 9/80 schedule is available, with time off every other Friday. This position will work full-time during the summer months in Palo Alto, CA.

The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) provides electricity, natural gas, and water services to the City of Palo Alto, including approximately 3,000 non-residential utility customers. Palo Alto has long been a leader in sustainability and climate action. The City's Sustainability and Climate Action Plan (S/CAP) outlines the City's strategy for achieving carbon emissions reductions and water conservation goals. To address these goals and adhere to State water regulations, CPAU has a variety of programs focusing on commercial water conservation, energy efficiency, and electrification. CPAU is seeking a summer intern to analyze water use and program participation trends amongst CPAU’s commercial, industrial, and institutional (CII) customers to help identify opportunities for better customer engagement, program participation, and water and energy conservation. 

This Commercial Programs Analysis Intern will work on segmenting commercial water customers by business type and consolidating commercial energy programs participation data into a unified template. This internship will appeal to those interested in energy and water usage in the commercial sector. The analysis would include some or all of the following, depending on the skills, interests, and time available:   

• Gather data from all CPAU commercial energy efficiency and water programs including customer participation and project completions.
• Consolidate data from various Excel spreadsheets to track commercial program participation and produce a visual representation of participation rates, energy savings, carbon emissions reduced, and rebate amounts provided.
• Classify CII accounts by analyzing their water use and categorizing them based on their business activities and end uses of water.
• Utilize consolidated data to visualize the data with tools such as ArcGIS, Google Imagery, and others 
• Assist with classifying accounts that do not easily fit into predefined categories. 
• Collaborate with CPAU program managers to identify high-water usage customers and assist with the development of targeted water-saving initiatives.
• Assist with reporting and storing account classification data.
• Document the classification methodology to support future CII account assignments.
• Collaborate with Utilities Customer Services to create a methodology for updating commercial accounts. 

Deliverables:

• A spreadsheet of commercial customer program participation and project information 
• Prepare a final report and presentation outlining findings from the analysis and provide recommendations on how CPAU can use these tools for ongoing program reporting and customer tracking.
• A database/spreadsheet of CII customers and the assigned business category
• A list of items that need further research and analysis

Qualifications: 

Academic status at an accredited college or university taking courses as a full-time student with a concentration in data analytics, environmental studies, public policy, resource management, or sustainability, or a similar related field leading to a Bachelor's or Master's degree in a field related to the work which is performed.

Required Knowledge: 

• Microsoft Office Suite, Excel proficiency.
• Strong organizational skills.
• Experience using Excel or other data analysis tools. 
• Interest in environmental studies or energy and water resource management.

Required Job Abilities:

• Experience using databases or spreadsheets for data collection.
• Communicate in clear, concise, and professional ways, both orally and in writing.

EOE