Power Distributors and Dispatchers
In short: today's best AI models could do about 91% 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 9% of the time, stays with people.
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
8,520 people do this job in the US. $106,730 a year.
A typical 40-hour week
Not yet reviewed task by task- AI could take on36 h
- A person checks AI's work0 h
- Desk work AI can't do yet0 h
- Stays with people4 h
Power Distributors and Dispatchers, now: of a 40-hour week, AI could take on 36 hours, 0 hours become checking its work, 0 hours are desk work it can't do yet, and 4 hours stay with people.
The largest pieces: 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 (about 7 h); Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers (about 5 h); Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems (about 4 h).
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.
- 91%
- 5%
- 4%
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, 2%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 74%. Today's estimate: 91%.
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, no reportable share went to this job's tasks in May 2026; 0 of its 14 tasks showed up. Within each of Anthropic's methods, never across a change: 0.034% to 0.016% (released February and March 2025); 0.003% to 0.0022% (August 2025 to February 2026).
Each release
| Conversations | Share | Rank | Tasks seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Released February 2025 | 0.034% | 337 of 708 | 6 of 14 |
| Released March 2025 | 0.016% | 448 of 703 | 4 of 14 |
| The week of Aug 4, 2025 (released September 2025) | 0.003% | 585 of 655 | 1 of 14 |
| The week of Nov 13, 2025 (released January 2026) | 0.0043% | 590 of 672 | 2 of 14 |
| The week of Feb 5, 2026 (released March 2026) | 0.0022% | 644 of 677 | 1 of 14 |
| April 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 14 |
| May 2026 (released June 2026) | none | n/a | 0 of 14 |
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 2% of this job's working time as physical work. For 2% of the working time, a robot has been shown doing most of the task somewhere: 2% in a structured facility. 0.05 of 3, the 585th highest of the 923 jobs.
- Not physical 98%
- In a structured facility 2%
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 . 14 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 16% | 50 min13 min to 2.5 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 13% | 38 min13 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 10% | 1.1 h25 min to 2.5 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas.Done daily by most who do it. | 10% | 1.3 h25 min to 3.3 h | 99%Half by now | |
| Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min17 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Implement energy schedules, including real-time transmission reservations or schedules.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 8% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 7% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 5% | 21 min8 min to 50 min | Stays with people | |
| Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 25 min13 min to 1.3 h | 100%Half by now | |
| Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines.Done several times a day by most who do it. | 3% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | 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.
- Power Plant Operators45% now, 45% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay19% now, 19% by 2028
- Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators21% now, 22% by 2028
- Hydroelectric Plant Technicians11% now, 11% by 2028
- Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment26% now, 32% by 2028
- Gas Plant Operators16% now, 16% 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 Power Distributors and Dispatchers is within reach of AI now?
- An estimated 91% of the working time is within reach of AI models now and 91% 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 Power Distributors and Dispatchers 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: 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 (99% of the task's time now); Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers (100% of the task's time now); and Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems (100% of the task's time now).
- Which tasks of Power Distributors and Dispatchers stay with people?
- Tasks that are people work or body work are not counted as within reach at any date. The largest: Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators; Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process; and Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects. Together such tasks are about 9% of the working time.
- Do people already use AI for the work of Power Distributors and Dispatchers?
- 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 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 Power Distributors and Dispatchers?
- Anthropic's robot exposure rating (September 2026) finds 2% of the working time is physical work, and that a robot has been shown doing most of the task, somewhere, for 2% of the working time, 2% in a structured facility. Its index is 0.05 of 3. One example: Transformer cooling control (winding-temperature staged fan/pump control) for "tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process". 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 14 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.
This job in your state or metro area
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.
Your own version of this job
The page above is the occupation. Your job is your title and what you actually do: give both, and they are read against these tasks in your browser, nothing sent anywhere. The headline is free: how much of your working time is within reach now and by the end of 2028, and how many of the tasks your description names.
This occupation has not been reviewed task by task yet, so the full personal report is not offered for it; 402 of 923 occupations are reviewed so far, largest first.