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Power Distributors and Dispatchers
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
Also Known As:
Control Area Operator
Control Operator
DSO (Distribution System Operator)
Dispatcher
Distribution System Dispatcher (DSD)
Electric System Operator
Power System Dispatcher
Power System Operator
Systems Operator
Transmission System Operator (TSO)
Wages
Annual wages for Power Distributors and Dispatchers in United States
Job Outlook
Below Average
New job opportunities are less likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
9,000
-3% Change From 2024
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Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.
- Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
- Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
- 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.
- 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.
- Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects.
- 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.
- Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
- 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.
- Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.
- Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")