Power Distributors and Dispatchers
ManufacturingO*NET 51-8012.00United States
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
- Median annual earnings
- $106,725
- Projected change
- +2.5%
- Typical education
- Certificate
- Employment
- 9.96K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
40.3% of the workforce
Growing to 10.21K by 2035
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ASU learning related to this career
These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What power distributors and dispatchers do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.
- Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.
- Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers.
- Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators.
- Distribute or regulate the flow of power between entities, such as generating stations, substations, distribution lines, or users, keeping track of the status of circuits or connections.
- Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
- Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
- Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
- Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings.
- Implement energy schedules, including real-time transmission reservations or schedules.
- Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.
- Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $72,446
- 25th percentile
- $90,210
- 50th percentile
- $106,725
- 75th percentile
- $130,936
- 90th percentile
- $154,274
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $106,725 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+2.5%average or slower
20259,961 jobs
2035 projected10,210 jobs
249 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Certificate
- 40.3%
- Associate degree
- 24%
- High school diploma or less
- 21.5%
- Some college
- 8.4%
- Bachelor's degree
- 5.6%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Critical Thinking
- Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Active Listening
- Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Operation and Control
- Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Coordination
- Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management
- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Active Learning
- Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Management of Personnel Resources
- Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, identifying the best people for the job.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Mathematics
- Using mathematics to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Quality Control Analysis
- Conducting tests and inspections of products, services, or processes to evaluate quality or performance.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Distribution System Operators22 postings
- 02Power System Operators8 postings
- 03System Operators7 postings
Top employers
- 01PPL4 postings
- 02Colorado Springs Utilities3 postings
- 03Hawaiian Electric Company3 postings
- 04City Of San Luis Obispo2 postings
- 05Green Mountain Power2 postings
- 06Lg&E And Ku Services Company2 postings
- 07Salt River Project2 postings
- 08Airswift1 postings
- 09City Of Burbank1 postings
- 10City Of College Station1 postings
- 11City Of Zeeland1 postings
- 12City of Leesburg1 postings
- 13Clay Electric Cooperative1 postings
- 14Danos1 postings
- 15Gainesville Regional Utilities1 postings
- 16Great Plains Natural Gas1 postings
- 17Intermountain Gas Company1 postings
- 18Lansing Board Of Water & Light1 postings
- 19Los Alamos County1 postings
- 20Marin Municipal Water District1 postings
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