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Power Plant Operators

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.

Related: Biomass Plant Technicians Gas Plant Operators Geothermal Technicians Hydroelectric Plant Technicians Stationary Engineers & Boiler Operators

Industries: Utilities Government

Summary
Details

Examine and test electrical power distribution machinery and equipment, using testing devices.
Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems.
Record and compile operational data by completing and maintaining forms, logs, or reports.
Communicate with systems operators to regulate and coordinate line voltages and transmission loads and frequencies.
Receive outage calls and request necessary personnel during power outages or emergencies.
Inspect records or log book entries or communicate with plant personnel to assess equipment operating status.
Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.
Control or maintain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, fans, compressors, condensers, feedwater heaters, filters, or chlorinators, to supply water, fuel, lubricants, air, or auxiliary power.
Adjust controls to generate specified electrical power or to regulate the flow of power between generating stations and substations.
Take regulatory action, based on readings from charts, meters and gauges, at established intervals.
Place standby emergency electrical generators on line in emergencies and monitor the temperature, output, and lubrication of the system.
Operate or maintain distributed power generation equipment, including fuel cells or microturbines, to produce energy on-site for manufacturing or other commercial purposes.
Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.
Operate, control, or monitor equipment, such as acid or gas carbon dioxide removal units, carbon dioxide compressors, or pipelines, to capture, store, or transport carbon dioxide exhaust.
Operate, control, or monitor integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or related equipment, such as air separation units, to generate electricity from coal.
Collect oil, water, or electrolyte samples for laboratory analysis.
Operate, control, or monitor gasifiers or related equipment, such as coolers, water quenches, water gas shifts reactors, or sulfur recovery units, to produce syngas or electricity from coal.
Clean, lubricate, or maintain equipment, such as generators, turbines, pumps, or compressors, to prevent failure or deterioration.
Make adjustments or minor repairs, such as tightening leaking gland or pipe joints.
Open and close valves and switches in sequence to start or shut down auxiliary units.
Clean, lubricate, or maintain equipment, such as generators, turbines, pumps, or compressors, to prevent failure or deterioration.
Regulate equipment operations and conditions, such as water levels, based on instrument data or from computers.
Place standby emergency electrical generators on line in emergencies and monitor the temperature, output, and lubrication of the system.
Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment.
Control or maintain auxiliary equipment, such as pumps, fans, compressors, condensers, feedwater heaters, filters, or chlorinators, to supply water, fuel, lubricants, air, or auxiliary power.
Operate or maintain distributed power generation equipment, including fuel cells or microturbines, to produce energy on-site for manufacturing or other commercial purposes.
Clean, lubricate, or maintain equipment, such as generators, turbines, pumps, or compressors, to prevent failure or deterioration.
Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels.

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

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

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.
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.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
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.
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.
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.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
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.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
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.
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.
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.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
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.
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.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
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.
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.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
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.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

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

124050/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

59.64/hr

Currently Employed

370

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
Analytical Thinking
Attention to Detail
Integrity
Adaptability/Flexibility
Cooperation

Absorbent booms
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Air compressors
Air dryers
Air samplers or collectors
Air scrubbers
Alarm systems
All terrain vehicles tracked or wheeled
Anemometers
Backhoes
Belt conveyors
Blowers
Boiler or heater igniter
Brushless motor DC
Bucket conveyors
Catalytic combustion analyzers
Chain conveyors
Claw hammer
Combustible or hazardous gas detectors for power generators
Commercial water heaters
Condensing units
Conductivity meters
Desktop computers
Diesel generators
Digital readout recorders
Dump trucks
Electrical control panels for generators
Electrical or power regulators
Electrostatic apparatus
Evaporative coolers
Facial shields
Fire tube boilers
Fixed screens
Flare or vent stacks
Flow transmitters
Flowmeters
Gas detectors
Gas generators
Gasoline engines
Graphic recorders
Grease guns
Hand pumps
Hard hats
Heat exchangers
Heat pumps
Impact crushers
Infrared imagers
Level sensors or transmitters
Light trucks or sport utility vehicles
Limit switch
Mainframe computers
Motor compressors
Multi gas monitors
Notebook computers
Oil filters
Oil gun
Oxygen gas analyzers
Personal computers
Portable data input terminals
Power supply transformers
Pressure indicators
Pressure sensors
Pressure transmitters
Process air heaters
Pulverizing machinery
Respiration air supplying self contained breathing apparatus or accessories
Rotameters
Safety valves
Sampling pumps
Screw conveyor
Screwdrivers
Sight flow windows
Signal converters
Skid steer loaders
Steam engines
Steam generators
Substation load control switchgears
Switchyard disconnect switches
Temperature transmitters
Thermal engines
Touch screen monitors
Turbine engines
Vacuum pumps
Venturis
Vibration testers
Water filters
Water pumps
Water purification equipment
Water samplers
Water softening accessories
Water tube boiler
Wet scrubbers

Analytical or scientific software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Enterprise resource planning ERP software
Facilities management software
Industrial control software
Internet browser software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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