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Power Distributors and Dispatchers
Production · SOC 51-8012
0.0% AI Exposure — Low
$106,730
Median Annual Salary
Average
O*NET Outlook
1,000
Proj. Annual Openings
8,520
Employment (OEWS 2025)
-3.8%/yr
Empl. growth (2019–2025)
100/100
AI Resiliency Score
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 51-8012 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
Proxy / seed data labeledDescriptive-only
- SOC exposure
- 0.0%
- Low · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 57/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $106,730
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 1,000
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change -3.2%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- —
- FY— certified LCAs; 1,246 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
Active ListeningCritical ThinkingMonitoringReading ComprehensionSpeaking
Transition context
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
AI Exposure Analysis
AI Exposure0.0%
AI Resiliency100/100
Exposure BandLow
Sector Avg. Exposure0.7%
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
37.7%
Consensus
Actual adoption · Anthropic0%
AI capability · OpenAI37.5%
AI ability · AIOE75.5%
Automation baseline (2013) · Frey & Osborne64%
AI could do ~37.5% of this role but only ~0% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
1.Active Listening
2.Critical Thinking
3.Monitoring
4.Reading Comprehension
5.Speaking
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →No H-1B certified LCA filings recorded for this occupation in FY2016–FY2025.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
Common titles: Control Area Operator, Control Operator, Dispatcher, Distribution System Dispatcher (DSD), DSO (Distribution System Operator), Electric System Operator
Representative 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.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Exchange information with colleagues.
- •Operate energy distribution equipment.
- •Direct operational or production activities.
- •Plan production or operational procedures or sequences.
- •Record operational or production data.
Tools & Technologies
Microsoft Excel · hotMicrosoft Outlook · hotMicrosoft PowerPoint · hotGeographic information system GIS softwareOSI monarch/SGPOutage management system OMSSupervisory control and data acquisition SCADA softwareWide area monitoring system WAMS software
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
15
Occupations Shown
0.5%
Avg AI Exposure
1
Bright Outlook
Horizontal bar chart showing occupations with the highest projected annual openings. Each bar length represents annual projected openings. Color uses a gradient from violet (lower) to cyan (higher). Summary statistics are shown above the chart.
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Multi-year BLS OEWS history for SOC 51-8012: 2019 — employment: 10,770, median wage: $90,700; 2020 — employment: 9,940, median wage: $95,100; 2021 — employment: 9,660, median wage: $98,530; 2022 — employment: 9,380, median wage: $101,650; 2023 — employment: 9,040, median wage: $104,750; 2025 — employment: 8,520, median wage: $106,730.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| Outlook | Average | 4% Bright |
| Median Salary | $106,730 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 100/100 | N/A |