When it comes to jobs in the energy sector, ‘meteorologist’ is likely not the first to pop in your head. But, weather strongly influences the day-to-day operations of power companies – from the amount of power people will need to cool or warm their homes to the effects on plant equipment and road conditions for our employees and suppliers to get to and from our sites. That’s why, in the early morning hours, long before most people hit snooze on their alarms, Beau Gjerdingen is already at his desk.
At 3 a.m. you can find him, cup of coffee in hand, analyzing weather models across the U.S. Beau then provides his weather forecast to Vistra’s power plant teams – from California to Maine – so they know what to expect and ensures the company’s commercial team has the crucial information it needs to make informed decisions.
Beau started college with a dream of becoming a meteorologist for the National Weather Service but after graduating from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, he was recruited by an energy company. After a decade there, an opportunity came along to bring his childhood dream to reality. Beau jumped at the chance to work for the NWS in Alaska – but it turns out, odd hours and freezing temperatures don’t mix well with family life.
“While the NWS is definitely a rewarding and interesting place to work, you’re always working rotating shifts. At the end of the day, I was just too old, with too many kids for that,” he laughs.
A desire for work-life balance brought him back to the energy sector through a new opportunity at Vistra. Once onboard, it didn’t take long for Mother Nature to rear her head, and Beau saw her coming. He had only been on the job for two weeks when he identified a developing storm that he believed had the potential to disrupt operations nationwide. This early identification allowed teams from across the company to gather days in advance to strategize and get prepared.
“Whenever you can spot an event before the rest of the world sees it, that’s one of the proudest moments in meteorology – and when things get serious, it’s like battle stations,” he says. “The weather is constantly evolving, so during big events, we meet frequently throughout the day to deliver weather updates as the situation progresses.”
On a more typical day, Beau still remains in constant communication with teams across Vistra, and uses days when the weather is calmer to refine the accuracy of his predictions and improve the company’s forecasting tools.
But no matter the weather, he says his journey has taught him one important lesson: dreams can change, and that’s okay. “Be ready for your dream to evolve,” he advises aspiring meteorologists. “If you’re passionate about something, you’ve got to make it useful for people.”