Hydroelectric Plant Technicians
In short: today's best AI models could do about 11% 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 89% of the time, stays with people.
Monitor and control activities associated with hydropower generation. Operate plant equipment, such as turbines, pumps, valves, gates, fans, electric control boards, and battery banks. Monitor equipment operation and performance and make necessary adjustments to ensure optimal performance. Perform equipment maintenance and repair as necessary.
$102,040 a year (for the broader BLS group this job sits in).
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on4 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people36 h
Hydroelectric Plant Technicians, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 4 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 36 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: Monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary (about 2 h); Maintain logs, reports, work requests, or other records of work performed in hydroelectric plants (about 1 h); Communicate status of hydroelectric operating equipment to dispatchers or supervisors (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.
- 11%
- 0%
- 89%
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, 1%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 10%. Today's estimate: 11%.
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
None of this job's 21 tasks showed up in the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled in any of its 7 releases, from February 2025 to May 2026.
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 90% of this job's working time as physical work. For 63% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 22% in a purpose-built cell, 42% in a structured facility. 1.05 of 3, the 92nd highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 10%
- No robot shown 27%
- In a purpose-built cell 22%
- In a structured facility 42%
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 . 21 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Maintain or repair hydroelectric plant electrical, mechanical, or electronic equipment, such as motors, transformers, voltage regulators, generators, relays, battery systems, air compressors, sump pumps, gates, or valves.Done more than weekly by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 12% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Inspect water-powered electric generators or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric plants to verify proper operation or to determine maintenance or repair needs.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Spot (Boston Dynamics) + Energy Robotics inspection software (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform tunnel or field inspections of hydroelectric plant facilities or resources.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Boston Dynamics Spot with Energy Robotics inspection software (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 2.1 h50 min to 5 h | Stays with people | |
| Install or calibrate electrical or mechanical equipment, such as motors, engines, switchboards, relays, switch gears, meters, pumps, hydraulics, or flood channels.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, ABB e-motor assembly robot cells (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 8% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | Stays with people | |
| Monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Spot (Boston Dynamics) + Energy Robotics inspection software (demonstrated). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Test and repair or replace electrical equipment, such as circuit breakers, station batteries, cable trays, conduits, or control devices.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, FANUC SCARA robotic circuit breaker testing and sorting system (integrator: Innovar Systems) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 6% | 2.5 h38 min to 6.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Operate hydroelectric plant equipment, such as turbines, pumps, valves, gates, fans, electric control boards, or battery banks.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, TVA Hydro Dispatch Control Center remote/automatic hydro unit control systems (Tennessee Valley Authority) (deployed). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Connect metal parts or components in hydroelectric plants by welding, soldering, riveting, tapping, bolting, bonding, or screwing.Done more than monthly by most who do it. Robots: in a purpose-built cell, Universal Robots cobot nut running / screwdriving stations (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 5% | 1.7 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people | |
| Take readings and record data, such as water levels, temperatures, or flow rates.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Boston Dynamics Spot + Energy Robotics autonomous inspection software (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | Stays with people | |
| Start, adjust, or stop generating units, operating valves, gates, or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric power generating plants.Done more than yearly by most who do it. Robots: in a structured facility, Ovation Unit Control (hydropower) (Emerson) (sold). Anthropic's rating. | 4% | 38 min13 min to 2.1 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform preventive or corrective containment or cleanup measures in hydroelectric plants to prevent environmental contamination.Done daily by most who do it. Robots: no robot shown. Anthropic's rating. | 3% | 1.3 h25 min to 4.2 h | Stays with people |
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.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025). Counts are for the broader BLS group this job sits in.
Questions about this job
- How much of the work of Hydroelectric Plant Technicians is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 11% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 11% 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 Hydroelectric Plant Technicians 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: Monitor hydroelectric power plant equipment operation and performance, adjusting to performance specifications, as necessary (100% of the task's time now); Maintain logs, reports, work requests, or other records of work performed in hydroelectric plants (100% of the task's time now); and Communicate status of hydroelectric operating equipment to dispatchers or supervisors (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Hydroelectric Plant Technicians stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Identify or address malfunctions of hydroelectric plant operational equipment, such as generators, transformers, or turbines; Maintain or repair hydroelectric plant electrical, mechanical, or electronic equipment, such as motors, transformers, voltage regulators, generators, relays, battery systems, air compressors, sump pumps, gates, or valves; and Inspect water-powered electric generators or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric plants to verify proper operation or to determine maintenance or repair needs. Together such tasks are about 89% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Hydroelectric Plant Technicians?
- In the Claude.ai conversations Anthropic sampled for May 2026, no reportable share went to this job's tasks. Anthropic's labor market measure puts the share of the job's tasks seen in real Claude use at work at 3%. 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 Hydroelectric Plant Technicians?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 90% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 63% of the working time, 42% in a structured facility. Its index is 1.05 of 3. One example: Spot (Boston Dynamics) + Energy Robotics inspection software for "inspect water-powered electric generators or auxiliary equipment in hydroelectric plants to verify proper operation or to determine maintenance or repair needs". 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 21 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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