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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers?
Task-level automation exposure for Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers: 23 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
14%
weighted task index
23 of 23 tasks scored
Median Salary
$95,320 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
High
131,070 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+10.3%
employment change
10,900 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 53 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$64,650 – $134,340
Highest medians
Hawaii $134,340
Washington $133,060
Oregon $131,090
California $129,040
Connecticut $126,850
Lowest medians
Guam $64,650
Arizona $75,420
Mississippi $75,890
Oklahoma $76,010
Louisiana $76,410
State figures come from the 49-9051 row in the May 2025 state panel. States where the estimate was suppressed or too small to publish are absent.
What the score is made of
Each task is mapped to its work activities, scored for AI automation potential, and weighted by how important those activities are to the job. These are the components.
Automation potential 14%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 76%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 0%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 0%
Share in documenting, recording, and administrative activities.
Rewritten by O*NET 0%
Share of weighted tasks O*NET rewrote in a recent update. Reported, not folded into the score.
Consequence of error 67/100
High
O*NET's own rating of how serious an uncorrectable mistake would be here — respondents, not us. Deliberately not in the index: the score measures what AI can do with the task content, and multiplying it by stakes would be our judgment dressed as data.
Constituent Task Mix
23 tasks for this occupation, weighted by work-activity importance. Shares below are of total task weight, not task count.
High exposure (≥ 60% of the task is automatable) 0%
0 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 11%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 89%
21 tasks
How would you survive?
Move your week away from the high-exposure tasks and toward the ones that need judgment. The simulator recalculates the index as you shift the mix.
Simulate Upskilling →Constituent Tasks
#8412 · Core · 42% automatable
Adhere to safety practices and procedures, such as checking equipment regularly and erecting barriers around work areas.
visual inspection — AI reviews records; human observes physical procedures
Monitor work areas or procedures to ensure compliance with safety procedures.
#8418 · Core · 10% automatable
Drive vehicles equipped with tools and materials to job sites.
situated mobility — Driving vehicles at work sites is situated mobility
Drive trucks or other vehicles to or at work sites.
#8413 · Core · 10% automatable
Open switches or attach grounding devices to remove electrical hazards from disturbed or fallen lines or to facilitate repairs.
physical manipulation — Physical power supply connection work
Control power supply connections.
#8414 · Core · 3% automatable
Climb poles or use truck-mounted buckets to access equipment.
situated mobility — Climbing structures requires physical mobility
Climb equipment or structures to access work areas.
#8416 · Core · 11% automatable
Install, maintain, and repair electrical distribution and transmission systems, including conduits, cables, wires, and related equipment, such as transformers, circuit breakers, and switches.
physical manipulation — Hands-on wiring repair in physical environment
Assemble electrical components, subsystems, or systems. Repair electrical circuits or wiring.
#8420 · Core · 24% automatable
Inspect and test power lines and auxiliary equipment to locate and identify problems, using reading and testing instruments.
data analysis — Electrical testing requires hands-on instrument use
Inspect electrical or electronic systems for defects. Test electrical equipment or systems to ensure proper functioning.
#8419 · Core · 48% automatable
Coordinate work assignment preparation and completion with other workers.
interpersonal — Real-time coworker coordination is relational work
Confer with coworkers to coordinate work activities.
#8423 · Core · 8% automatable
Replace or straighten damaged poles.
physical manipulation — Physical alignment of machinery requires hands
Align equipment or machinery.
#8421 · Core · 10% automatable
String wire conductors and cables between poles, towers, trenches, pylons, and buildings, setting lines in place and using winches to adjust tension.
physical manipulation — Running wiring is hands-on installation
Run wiring to connect equipment.
#8425 · Core · 4% automatable
Attach cross-arms, insulators, and auxiliary equipment to poles prior to installing them.
physical manipulation — Mechanical assembly needs hands and tools
Assemble mechanical components or machine parts.
#8427 · Core · 7% automatable
Dig holes, using augers, and set poles, using cranes and power equipment.
physical manipulation — Crane/hoist operation demands real-time physical control
Dig holes or trenches. Operate cranes, hoists, or other moving or lifting equipment.
#8426 · Core · 5% automatable
Travel in trucks, helicopters, and airplanes to inspect lines for freedom from obstruction and adequacy of insulation.
situated mobility — Physical travel to sites requires human mobility
Travel to work sites to perform installation, repair or maintenance work.
#8417 · Core · 20% automatable
Identify defective sectionalizing devices, circuit breakers, fuses, voltage regulators, transformers, switches, relays, or wiring, using wiring diagrams and electrical-testing instruments.
visual inspection — Defect detection in electrical systems needs presence
Inspect electrical or electronic systems for defects.
#8424 · Core · 9% automatable
Install watt-hour meters and connect service drops between power lines and consumers' facilities.
physical manipulation — Connecting electrical components is manual work
Install metering equipment. Connect electrical components or equipment.
#8422 · Core · 25% automatable
Test conductors, according to electrical diagrams and specifications, to identify corresponding conductors and to prevent incorrect connections.
physical manipulation — Electrical probing and meter work by hand
Test electrical circuits or components for proper functioning.
#8415 · Core · 3% automatable
Place insulating or fireproofing materials over conductors and joints.
physical manipulation — Insulation installation requires manual fitting
Install insulation in equipment or structures.
#8429 · Core · 10% automatable
Splice or solder cables together or to overhead transmission lines, customer service lines, or street light lines, using hand tools, epoxies, or specialized equipment.
physical manipulation — Connecting electrical components is manual work
Connect electrical components or equipment. Solder parts or connections between parts.
#8428 · Core · 8% automatable
Trim trees that could be hazardous to the functioning of cables or wires.
physical manipulation — Physical cutting to specifications
Cut materials according to specifications or needs.
#8432 · Core · 10% automatable
Pull up cable by hand from large reels mounted on trucks.
physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work
Lay cables to connect equipment.
#8433 · Core · 10% automatable
Lay underground cable directly in trenches, or string it through conduit running through the trenches.
physical manipulation — Laying cables requires physical routing work
Lay cables to connect equipment.
#8434 · Core · 3% automatable
Cut trenches for laying underground cables, using trenchers and cable plows.
physical manipulation — Manual digging with tools in ground
Dig holes or trenches.
#8430 · Core · 8% automatable
Cut and peel lead sheathing and insulation from defective or newly installed cables and conduits prior to splicing.
physical manipulation — Physical cutting to specifications
Cut materials according to specifications or needs.
#8431 · Supplemental · 10% automatable
Clean, tin, and splice corresponding conductors by twisting ends together or by joining ends with metal clamps and soldering connections.
physical manipulation — Connecting electrical components is manual work
Connect electrical components or equipment. Solder parts or connections between parts.
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How this was scored
- 1. Tasks. O*NET task statements for this occupation, from a release whose newest record is dated 08/2026.
- 2. Work activities. Each task maps to 1–5 Detailed Work Activities; each activity belongs to one of 41 Generalized Work Activities that O*NET rates for importance (1–5) in this occupation.
- 3. Automation potential. Every work activity carries one score for how far current AI can perform it end-to-end. Tasks inherit the mean of their activities.
- 4. Weighting. Task weight = 0.35 + 0.65 × (importance − 1)/4, scaled by how often the task is performed and by 0.7 for Supplemental tasks. Importance is the task's own O*NET rating where it exists (18,369 of 18,838 tasks); the rest inherit their work activities' importance. The index is the weighted mean.
Check: across the 910 occupations where O*NET also rates how far machine speed sets the pace, this index moves opposite to it (Spearman ρ = -0.49). The more a job is paced by equipment, the less of its task content AI can address — the relationship you would expect if the scoring is working.
Sources · O*NET 31.0 (task records to 08/2026) · BLS OEWS May 2025 · BLS projections 2025-2035 · rubric v2.1 · tasks for O*NET, not a forecast
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