Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
In short: today's best AI models could do about 19% of this job's working time (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) if the work were set up for them, and about the same by the end of 2028 if progress keeps its long-run pace. The people and hands-on work, about 81% of the time, stays with people.
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
20,720 people do this job in the US. $103,020 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on8 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people32 h
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 8 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 32 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Analyze test data to diagnose malfunctions, to determine performance characteristics of systems, or to evaluate effects of system modifications (about 5 h); Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance (about 2 h); Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary (under an hour).
Estimates for a typical week of this job, if progress keeps its long-run pace, counting work the best models finish four times in five. Every task is below.
of the working time. Now is projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index.
- 19%
- 20%
- 61%
of the work: Anthropic's measure of what people already bring to Claude at work (2025). It counts help with part of a task, so it can be higher than the share within reach.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
Change assumptionsHide assumptionsLong-run pace, four in five
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 2.4 work days long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 0%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 17%. Today's estimate: 19%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
Measured use over time
Of the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled and tied to a work task, 0.064% went to this job's tasks in May 2026, the 206th largest of the 447 jobs that showed up at all; 1 of its 15 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.012% to 0.01% (released February and March 2025); none to 0.0045% (August 2025 to February 2026); 0.068% to 0.064% (April to May 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.012% | 514 of 708 | 2 of 15 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.01% | 502 of 703 | 2 of 15 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | none | n/a | 0 of 15 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0042% | 592 of 672 | 2 of 15 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0045% | 581 of 677 | 2 of 15 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.068% | 199 of 434 | 1 of 15 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | 0.064% | 206 of 447 | 1 of 15 |
Measured, not estimated: Anthropic's samples of Claude.ai conversations, each tied by a model to an O*NET task, from the Anthropic Economic Index. It says where Claude's use goes, not how much of this job's working time it covers, so it is not on the same scale as the reach above. The releases differ in their sample, their classifier and the smallest share they report (the June 2026 file rounds each task to a hundredth of a percent, so a smaller task reads as none), which is why a change of method starts a new line. At least 96% of each older release's task-tied use matched this site's tasks, and all of the newest. Claude.ai only, so use through other tools and other companies' models is not in it. Every job ranked.
Robots and the physical work
Anthropic rates 67% of this job's working time as physical work. For 39% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 39% in a purpose-built cell. 0.40 of 3, the 344th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 33%
- No robot shown 27%
- In a purpose-built cell 39%
Anthropic's rating, not this site's estimate: Claude Opus 5, searching the web, rated each physical O*NET task by the kind of setting in which a robot it could cite (deployed, sold or demonstrated) does most of the task, weighted by its own estimate of each task's share of the time (What work can robots do?, September 30, 2026, data CC BY 4.0; every job ranked). A robot shown somewhere is not a robot in your building: cost, setup and safety decide that. The share within reach on this page still counts no body work. The robot behind each rated task is under the task below.
The tasks
Sorted by . 15 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Construct, test, maintain, and repair substation relay and control systems.Done daily by most who do it.Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 23% | 5 h1.7 h to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Robotic pick-and-place ICT loading cell on a PCBA line (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 18% | 1.3 h38 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Consult manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering personnel to troubleshoot and solve equipment problems and to determine optimum equipment functioning.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 12% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | Stays with people | |
| Analyze test data to diagnose malfunctions, to determine performance characteristics of systems, or to evaluate effects of system modifications.Done daily by most who do it. | 12% | 1.3 h33 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Disconnect voltage regulators, bolts, and screws, and connect replacement regulators to high-voltage lines.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Fori Automation Robotic Chassis Marriage system (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 4.2 h1.7 h to 1.3 work days | Stays with people | |
| Schedule and supervise the construction and testing of special devices and the implementation of unique monitoring or control systems.Done more than yearly by most who do it. | 5% | 6.7 h1.7 h to 2.5 work days | Stays with people | |
| Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 33 min13 min to 1.1 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Repair, replace, and clean equipment and components such as circuit breakers, brushes, and commutators.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 h38 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Open and close switches to isolate defective relays, performing adjustments or repairs.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Circuit Breaker Racking Robot (ULC Technologies / Con Edison) (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Schedule and supervise splicing or termination of cables in color-code order.Done more than monthly by most who do it. | 3% | 2.5 h1.3 h to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.Done more than yearly by most who do it.Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Marposs in-line electrical test station for cylindrical battery cells (robotic loading + HV insulation test) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 2.1 h50 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Verity inventory drones (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 2% | 50 min25 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment26% now, 32% by 2028
- Control and Valve Installers and Repairers, Except Mechanical Door1% now, 1% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Installers and Repairers, Transportation Equipment8% now, 8% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians39% now, 48% by 2028
- Electric Motor, Power Tool, and Related Repairers3% now, 3% by 2028
- Power Distributors and Dispatchers91% now, 91% by 2028
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 19% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 19% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five. Within reach means a model could finish work that long at that reliability. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
- Which tasks of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay come within reach first?
- Weighted by the time each takes, the tasks with the most within reach now (projected from METR's April 2026 measurement and Epoch's November 2026 index) are: Analyze test data to diagnose malfunctions, to determine performance characteristics of systems, or to evaluate effects of system modifications (100% of the task's time now); Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance (100% of the task's time now); and Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Construct, test, maintain, and repair substation relay and control systems; Inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters; and Consult manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering personnel to troubleshoot and solve equipment problems and to determine optimum equipment functioning. Together such tasks are about 81% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026 and tied to a work task, 0.064% went to this job's tasks, the 206th largest share of the 447 jobs that showed up; 1 of its 15 tasks appeared. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 0%. These are measures of use, not of how much of the work AI could finish, and they cover Claude only.
- Can robots do the physical work of Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 67% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 39% of the working time. Its index is 0.40 of 3. One example: Robotic pick-and-place ICT loading cell on a PCBA line for "inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters". A robot shown somewhere is not one in every workplace; this site's own estimates still count no physical work as within reach.
- How is this estimated?
- From the 15 tasks O*NET lists for the occupation, each with an estimated length checked against GDPval and a share of the working time, each classed as desk, people or body work, and METR's measurements of how long a task the best AI models can finish, carried forward to the date from the latest, Claude Mythos Preview (early) in April 2026. Data checked November 10, 2026.
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