AI exposure: Power Distributors and Dispatchers
Coordinate, regulate, or distribute electricity or steam.
Reading this score
computed33.2% of this occupation's weighted task load is exposed, which puts Power Distributors and Dispatchers at the 58th percentile of 923 occupations. The capability is largely there. Its average task scores 2.1 out of 4 on what a current system can produce, and the frictions that hold other jobs in place are comparatively weak here.
What holds the line here is context. Across this occupation's 14 tasks it averages 1.82 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work depends on knowledge the model cannot hold. Much of this job runs on things that were never written down: what this particular organisation does, what happened last week, what the person across the table actually meant. That context is the barrier, and it erodes as systems are given more access.
The most exposed thing this job does is Record and compile operational data, at 73.3%. The least is Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process, at 8.3%. A gap of 65.0% between two parts of the same job is the reason this index publishes at task level. An occupation-wide number would have hidden both.
Within production occupations, this one is more exposed than most. The median across the 107 roles in the group is 16.1%, and only 2 of them score higher than this. Occupational families are not uniform, and the spread inside them is often wider than the gap between them.
What would move this score. Of 14 tasks, 7 are currently banded exposed, 1 assisted and 6 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take cheaper ways to verify output, since the cost of checking is currently doing more to hold this work in place than the cost of producing it. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
Task by task
14 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record and compile operational data, such as chart or meter readings, power demands, or usage and operating times, using transmission system maps. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 3.89 | exposed |
| Coordinate with engineers, planners, field personnel, or other utility workers to provide information such as clearances, switching orders, or distribution process changes. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.75 | exposed |
| Prepare switching orders that will isolate work areas without causing power outages, referring to drawings of power systems. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.65 | exposed |
| Implement energy schedules, including real-time transmission reservations or schedules. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.33 | exposed |
| Calculate load estimates or equipment requirements to determine required control settings. | 55.0% | 20.0% | 25.0% | 4.30 | exposed |
| Monitor and record switchboard or control board readings to ensure that electrical or steam distribution equipment is operating properly. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | 4.54 | exposed |
| Track conditions that could affect power needs, such as changes in the weather, and adjust equipment to meet any anticipated changes. | 41.7% | 20.8% | 37.5% | 4.14 | exposed |
| Direct personnel engaged in controlling or operating distribution equipment or machinery, such as instructing control room operators to start boilers or generators. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | 4.68 | assisted |
| Inspect equipment to ensure that specifications are met or to detect any defects. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | 4.20 | untouched |
| Respond to emergencies, such as transformer or transmission line failures, and route current around affected areas. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.72 | untouched |
| Control, monitor, or operate equipment that regulates or distributes electricity or steam, using data obtained from instruments or computers. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.71 | untouched |
| 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. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.67 | untouched |
| Manipulate controls to adjust or activate power distribution equipment or machines. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.65 | untouched |
| Tend auxiliary equipment used in the power distribution process. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean.
Where the score comes from
judgedEvery task is scored through the standardised work activities it maps to. These are this occupation’s averages on the six rubric dimensions. Capability is what AI can do; the other five are what stands in the way.
| Dimension | Mean | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Capability | 2.11 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 1.29 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.71 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.25 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.82 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.71 | 0-3 |
What this means in practice
Where most of a role's weighted task load is exposed, the work that survives is usually the part of the job nobody wrote into the job description: deciding what should be produced rather than producing it, and being answerable for the result. The tasks lowest on this page are a better guide to where to spend your time than any general advice about the future of work.
Occupations either side of this one
The four closest scores in the same occupational family, then the four closest anywhere in the index.
Read this carefully. Exposure is not displacement. A high score means current AI systems can produce this work, not that anyone will stop paying a person to do it. Adoption depends on economics, regulation and inertia that this index deliberately does not model. How the score is built.