Production
Power distributors and dispatchers
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
Median pay
$106,730
Growth to 2035
+1%
little or no change
Openings a year
700
Time to qualify*
12 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Power distributors and dispatchers
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- High school diploma or equivalent
- On-the-job training
- Long-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Power distributors and dispatchers: 47% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
Also called: Control Area Operator · Control Operator · Dispatcher · Distribution System Dispatcher (DSD) · DSO (Distribution System Operator) · Electric System Operator · Power System Dispatcher · Power System Operator
Outlook and AI
Power distributors and dispatchers held 8,600 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 8,700 by 2035 (+1%, little or no change; all jobs: +3.5%).
Productivity change - share decreases as improved equipment monitoring systems reduce the need to manually check equipment, flows, and systems.
Compare with
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