Summer 2026 Communications Internship
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) has an exciting opportunity for a Summer 2026 Communications Intern. This position will support the NARUC Center for Partnerships & Innovation (CPI) with a broad range of outreach and communications efforts, including at least two projects that will conclude this summer.
About Naruc And The Center For Partnerships & Innovation
Founded in 1889, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to representing the state public service commissions who regulate the utilities that provide essential services such as energy, telecommunications, power, water, and transportation. NARUC's members include all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Most state commissioners are appointed by their governor, whereas commissioners in 10 states are elected by the public and in two states by the general assembly. Our mission is to serve the public interest by improving the quality and effectiveness of public utility regulation. Under state laws, NARUC's members have an obligation to ensure the establishment and maintenance of utility services as may be required by law and to ensure that such services are provided at rates and conditions that are fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory for all consumers.
CPI identifies emerging challenges and connects state utility commissions with expertise and strategies to navigate their complex decision-making. Success for CPI means building relationships, developing resources, and delivering training that provides answers to state commissions’ questions. CPI is funded by cooperative agreements with numerous offices across the U.S. Department of Energy, and conducts work across five key energy areas and many topics within each: generation; transmission; distribution; customers; and critical infrastructure preparedness, response, and resilience. For examples of recent projects, reports, and events, visit https://www.naruc.org/cpi/.
Position Overview
NARUC CPI will hire a student intern for an 8- to 10-week period in summer 2026, with start and end dates flexible, based on the student’s academic schedule. Ideally, the internship will occur between June and August 2026. This is a paid, full-time, remote internship that will consist of up to 7.5-hour workdays, Monday through Friday.
The intern will report to CPI’s Communications Specialist and will have the opportunity to work with NARUC subject-matter experts, senior communications personnel, and contracted vendors (web developer and publishers) to promote resources and events on timely energy topics to support state public utility commissioners and commission staff.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIESTwo key projects:
- Setting up automated reports of CPI’s key web pages in Google Analytics to determine how to enhance CPI’s web page infrastructure. Related tasks will also include reviewing and analyzing CPI’s web pages, flagging older content, as well as assisting with the development of a strategic system for future website updates and style / content consistency.
- Designing and proposing an interactive communications campaign to share CPI’s resources with NARUC members and other key stakeholders. Present campaign to NARUC staff.
ADDITIONAL DUTIES
- Crafting routine social media content for multiple platforms (LinkedIn, X) related to upcoming CPI events and resources.
- Supporting rebranding efforts. Tasks will include working with NARUC’s Communications Specialist, Communications Department, publishers, and graphic designers to assist in refreshing CPI’s overall visual aesthetic, tone, and user experience.
- Assisting in applying the rebranding style to refresh CPI’s collateral, such as newsletter (in MailChimp), PowerPoint template, CPI 101 presentation, CPI factsheet, and other materials.
Over the course of the summer, the intern will gain a better understanding of communication strategies, industry-standard communications and marketing software, and current energy/utility topics. The intern will gain practical work experience using Microsoft 365 tools (Outlook, Teams, SharePoint, PowerPoint, etc.), Google Analytics, MailChimp, Canva, Twitter, LinkedIn, basic HTML, and Mura (CMS).
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
- Rising junior or senior undergraduate student, graduate student, or recent graduate (within one year of graduating) from a U.S.accredited institution of higher education.
- Experience in digital media and communications.
- Web analytics experience.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills; comfortable speaking in small group settings.
- Minimum GPA: 3.25
PREFERRED BACKGROUND AND ATTRIBUTES
- Education and/or demonstrated interest in environmental studies, utility regulation, energy topics, science, technology, public policy or a related field.
- Creativity.
- Ability to work independently and apply critical thinking skills.
DURATION AND STIPEND
- The internship will commence sometime after June 1, for a period of 810 weeks.
- A stipend of $1,500 to $1,875 ($20 to $25/hour) will be paid biweekly, commensurate with education and experience level.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
- The internship is grantfunded and continued employment is based on client funding and satisfactory work performance.
- This posting is not an attempt to list all essential functions of this internship.
- The work hours for this position must adhere to the East Coast time zone.
- This is a fully remote position. Residency must be in the continental U.S. contiguous states, including the District of Columbia, but not Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories.
- NARUC will not provide any form of visa or work sponsorship for this position.
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
APPLICATION PROCESS
Interested individuals should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing samples through the application link provided at https://jobs.appone.com/naruc.
Note: Portfolio/writing sample URLs may be added to the cover letter or resume.
