AI Automation Index

Will AI Replace Hydroelectric Production Managers?

Task-level automation exposure for Hydroelectric Production Managers: 18 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.

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Developed & audited by Gini Loh

Automation Exposure

44% weighted task index

18 of 18 tasks scored

Median Salary

$126,060 / year

BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation

Employment Level

High

246,250 people hold this job — size, not growth

Projected 2025–35

+2.6% employment change

17,000 openings a year · BLS line item

Pay by state

BLS OEWS publishes 52 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.

$100,470 – $153,000

Highest medians

Delaware $153,000

Wyoming $151,490

Massachusetts $148,050

New Jersey $147,260

New Hampshire $146,590

Lowest medians

Guam $100,470

Iowa $106,510

Nebraska $107,200

Idaho $107,340

South Dakota $107,490

State figures come from the 11-3051 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 44%

Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.

Physical work 4%

Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.

Judgment & influence 60%

Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.

Routine administration 7%

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 48/100 Moderate

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

18 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) 26%

5 tasks

Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 52%

9 tasks

Low exposure (below 35%) 22%

4 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 →

Emerging & rewritten tasks

Tasks O*NET added or rewrote for this occupation in its recent updates (05/2025 – 08/2026), with who proposed them. Additions are not in the scored task inventory — they are new work O*NET is still measuring, so they appear here and nowhere in the index. A Revision replaces a task that is scored, which is why only those move the "Rewritten by O*NET" share.

New 07/2016 · Incumbent

Train employees in power plant operations.

Constituent Tasks

#15520 · Core · 22% automatable

Direct operations, maintenance, or repair of hydroelectric power facilities.

physical manipulation — Green facility maintenance direction needs on-site authority

Direct maintenance and repair activities in green energy production facilities.

#15515 · Core · 60% automatable

Identify and communicate power system emergencies.

text generation — AI drafts green energy communications; human reviews

Communicate green energy production information.

#15512 · Core · 72% automatable

Maintain records of hydroelectric facility operations, maintenance, or repairs.

data analysis — Maintain sustainability records; human owns compliance

Maintain operational records for green energy processes or other environmentally-sustainable activities.

#15509 · Core · 45% automatable

Perform or direct preventive or corrective containment or cleanup to protect the environment.

decision support — Sustainability projects need stakeholder judgment and authority

Manage environmental sustainability projects.

#15513 · Core · 35% automatable

Monitor or inspect hydroelectric equipment, such as hydro-turbines, generators, or control systems.

visual inspection — Facility inspection requires physical presence and sensory judgment

Inspect operations of green energy facilities.

#15514 · Core · 35% automatable

Inspect hydroelectric facilities, including switchyards, control houses, or relay houses, for normal operation or adherence to safety standards.

visual inspection — Facility inspection requires physical presence and sensory judgment

Inspect operations of green energy facilities.

#15519 · Core · 44% automatable

Supervise or monitor hydroelectric facility operations to ensure that generation or mechanical equipment conform to applicable regulations or standards.

decision support — Checks program against standards; human verifies compliance

Evaluate green operations or programs for compliance with standards or regulations. Direct green energy production operations.

#15508 · Core · 44% automatable

Plan or coordinate hydroelectric production operations to meet customer requirements.

text generation — Strategies drafted; operational feasibility human-owned

Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures for green or sustainable operations. Direct green energy production operations.

#15518 · Core · 35% automatable

Check hydroelectric operations for compliance with prescribed operating limits, such as loads, voltages, temperatures, lines, or equipment.

visual inspection — Facility inspection requires physical presence and sensory judgment

Inspect operations of green energy facilities.

#15504 · Core · 47% automatable

Develop or implement projects to improve efficiency, economy, or effectiveness of hydroelectric plant operations.

text generation — Policy drafting aided; governance decisions human

Implement organizational process or policy changes. Develop sustainable organizational policies or practices.

#15503 · Core · 65% automatable

Provide technical direction in the erection or commissioning of hydroelectric equipment or supporting electrical or mechanical systems.

information retrieval — Green energy advice is knowledge-based with tailoring

Advise others on green energy or related technologies.

#15505 · Core · 22% automatable

Supervise hydropower plant equipment installations, upgrades, or maintenance.

physical manipulation — Green facility maintenance direction needs on-site authority

Direct maintenance and repair activities in green energy production facilities.

#15507 · Core · 28% automatable

Plan or manage hydroelectric plant upgrades.

decision support — Plant operations direction needs real-time human control

Direct green energy production operations.

#15506 · Core · 45% automatable

Respond to problems related to ratepayers, water users, power users, government agencies, educational institutions, or other private or public power resource interests.

interpersonal — Complaint resolution needs authority and rapport

Resolve customer complaints or problems.

#15516 · Core · 68% automatable

Develop or review budgets, annual plans, power contracts, power rates, standing operating procedures, power reviews, or engineering studies.

data analysis — Green operational budget drafting from cost assumptions

Prepare operational budgets for green energy or other green operations.

#15502 · Core · 50% automatable

Develop or implement policy evaluation procedures for hydroelectric generation activities.

text generation — AI drafts evaluation procedures; human adapts to org

Implement organizational process or policy changes. Develop procedures to evaluate organizational activities.

#15510 · Supplemental · 20% automatable

Operate energized high- or low-voltage hydroelectric power transmission system substations, according to procedures and safety requirements.

physical manipulation — Physical control of green energy production equipment

Operate green energy production equipment.

#15517 · Supplemental · 72% automatable

Create or enforce hydrostation voltage schedules.

data analysis — AI arranges schedules; human manages real-world changes

Schedule activities or facility use.

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Community Sentiment

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Method

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

See the full method →

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