Find Your Dream Job
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
2033 Projected Employment
9,100
-1% Change From 2023
Explore Nuclear Power Reactor Operators video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings.
- Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects.
- Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps.
- 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.
- Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
- Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
- Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process.
- 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.
- Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.
- 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.
- Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
- 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.
- Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
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.
- 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.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- 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.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- 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.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- 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.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- 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.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- 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.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
Career Coaching
Need a guide to help you on your career journey or to prepare for your next interview?
You May Also Be Interested In
Power Plant Operators
Hydroelectric Plant Technicians
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment
Geothermal Technicians
Gas Plant Operators
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment
Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians
Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")