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Power Distributors and Dispatchers

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.

Related: Electrical & Electronics Installers & Repairers, Transportation Equipment Electrical & Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, & Relay Hydroelectric Plant Technicians Power Plant Operators Stationary Engineers & Boiler Operators

Industries: Utilities Government Management

Summary
Details

Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.
Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators.
Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings.
Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.
Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process.
Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.
Implement energy schedules, including real-time transmission reservations or schedules.
Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.
Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.
Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps.
Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.
Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers.
Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects.
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.
Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.

Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.

Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.

Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

More than 1 year on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

139170/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

66.91/hr

Currently Employed

440

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Stress Tolerance
Attention to Detail
Self Control
Analytical Thinking
Initiative

Distribution or control board fixtures
Electrical control panels for generators
Mainframe computers

Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Geographic information system
Industrial control software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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