Community Sentiment
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AI Automation Index
Will AI Replace Power Distributors and Dispatchers?
Task-level automation exposure for Power Distributors and Dispatchers: 14 O*NET tasks scored against their work activities, plus the simulator.
E-E-A-T Verified
Developed & audited by Gini Loh Automation Exposure
42%
weighted task index
14 of 14 tasks scored
Median Salary
$106,730 / year
BLS OEWS, May 2025 — this exact occupation
Employment Level
Low
8,520 people hold this job — size, not growth
Projected 2025–35
+1.2%
employment change
700 openings a year · BLS line item
Pay by state
BLS OEWS publishes 38 state estimates for this occupation. Each is its own survey estimate, not the national median adjusted for local prices.
$79,580 – $144,710
Highest medians
Washington $144,710
New York $139,390
Nevada $138,300
California $137,570
Oregon $137,490
Lowest medians
New Mexico $79,580
Tennessee $79,910
Georgia $80,560
Virginia $81,080
Wisconsin $83,140
State figures come from the 51-8012 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 42%
Importance-weighted mean of the scored tasks. This is the headline index.
Physical work 43%
Share of weighted tasks in hands-on or machine-operating work activities.
Judgment & influence 30%
Share in analysis, decisions, teaching, directing, advising, or caring for others.
Routine administration 14%
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 80/100
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
14 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) 36%
5 tasks
Medium exposure (≥ 35%) 15%
2 tasks
Low exposure (below 35%) 49%
7 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
#12302 · Core · 55% automatable
Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.
interpersonal — Colleague information exchange is relational, contextual
Exchange information with colleagues.
#12299 · Core · 20% automatable
Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.
physical manipulation — Hands-on energy distribution equipment operation
Operate energy distribution equipment.
#12301 · Core · 20% automatable
Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers.
physical manipulation — Hands-on energy distribution equipment operation
Operate energy distribution equipment.
#12303 · Core · 30% automatable
Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators.
interpersonal — Directing production operations is human supervisory authority
Direct operational or production activities.
#12304 · Core · 20% automatable
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.
physical manipulation — Hands-on energy distribution equipment operation
Operate energy distribution equipment.
#12307 · Core · 20% automatable
Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
physical manipulation — Hands-on energy distribution equipment operation
Operate energy distribution equipment.
#12300 · Core · 60% automatable
Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
decision support — Sequence planning aided; production constraints human-verified
Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
#12305 · Core · 62% automatable
Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Monitor equipment operation to ensure proper functioning. Record operational or production data.
#12312 · Core · 60% automatable
Implement energy schedules, including real-time transmission reservations or schedules.
decision support — Sequence planning aided; production constraints human-verified
Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
#12308 · Core · 65% automatable
Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings.
data analysis — Production requirement calc; human validates inputs
Calculate specific material, equipment, or labor requirements for production.
#12306 · Core · 47% automatable
Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.
information retrieval — AI scans external factors and flags impacts
Monitor external factors impacting operations. Adjust equipment to ensure optimal performance.
#12309 · Core · 82% automatable
Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps.
data analysis — Record production data into structured logs
Record operational or production data.
#12310 · Supplemental · 18% automatable
Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects.
visual inspection — Physical inspection of production machinery in situ
Inspect production equipment.
#12311 · Supplemental · 20% automatable
Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process.
physical manipulation — Hands-on energy distribution equipment operation
Operate energy distribution equipment.
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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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