AI exposure: Power Plant Operators
Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.
Reading this score
computedAt 22.9% of weighted task load, Power Plant Operators sits at the 42th percentile, below the point where a job's centre of gravity has moved. 61.3% of what this role does is untouched, meaning current systems cannot produce that work at all, whatever the commercial incentive.
What holds the line here is embodiment. Across this occupation's 30 tasks it averages 2.07 out of 3, the highest of the five friction dimensions. In plain terms, the work has to happen in physical space. A language model cannot move matter. Until the robotics to do this work is both good enough and cheap enough to deploy widely, capability in software does not reach it.
The most exposed thing this job does is Record and compile operational data by completing and maintaining forms, logs, or reports, at 73.3%. The least is Repair or replace gas piping, at 0.0%. A gap of 73.3% 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 14 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 30 tasks, 9 are currently banded exposed, 3 assisted and 18 untouched. For that distribution to shift materially would take robotics cheap and reliable enough to deploy at scale, not a better language model. The score is re-computed every quarter against a fresh capability reference, and the change is published rather than quietly applied.
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 | 1.59 | 0-4 |
| Embodiment | 2.07 | 0-3 |
| Presence | 0.81 | 0-3 |
| Accountability | 1.21 | 0-3 |
| Context | 1.58 | 0-3 |
| Verification cost | 1.68 | 0-3 |
Task by task
30 tasks, O*NET 31.0| Task | Exposed | Assisted | Untouched | Importance | Band |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record and compile operational data by completing and maintaining forms, logs, or reports. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | 4.14 | exposed |
| Prepare and submit compliance, operational, and safety forms or reports. | 73.3% | 26.7% | 0.0% | – | exposed |
| Inspect records or log book entries or communicate with plant personnel to assess equipment operating status. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.38 | exposed |
| Communicate with systems operators to regulate and coordinate line voltages and transmission loads and frequencies. | 60.0% | 15.0% | 25.0% | 4.31 | exposed |
| Trace electrical circuitry to ensure compliance of electrical systems with applicable codes or laws. | 50.0% | 25.0% | 25.0% | – | exposed |
| Receive outage calls and request necessary personnel during power outages or emergencies. | 45.0% | 30.0% | 25.0% | 3.92 | exposed |
| Regulate equipment operations and conditions, such as water levels, based on instrument data or from computers. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.41 | exposed |
| 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. | 33.3% | 16.7% | 50.0% | 4.42 | exposed |
| Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems. | 26.7% | 23.3% | 50.0% | 4.53 | exposed |
| Diagnose or troubleshoot problems with gas collection systems. | 23.3% | 26.7% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Place standby emergency electrical generators on line in emergencies and monitor the temperature, output, and lubrication of the system. | 22.5% | 15.0% | 62.5% | 3.89 | untouched |
| Monitor well fields periodically to ensure proper functioning and performance. | 20.0% | 30.0% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary. | 18.8% | 18.8% | 62.5% | 4.53 | untouched |
| 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. | 18.8% | 18.8% | 62.5% | 4.42 | untouched |
| Verify that well field monitoring data conforms to applicable regulations. | 16.7% | 33.3% | 50.0% | – | assisted |
| Take regulatory action, based on readings from charts, meters and gauges, at established intervals. | 15.0% | 10.0% | 75.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Analyze the layout, instrumentation, or function of electrical generation or transmission facilities. | 13.3% | 11.7% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Examine and test electrical power distribution machinery and equipment, using testing devices. | 10.0% | 15.0% | 75.0% | 3.90 | untouched |
| Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.67 | untouched |
| Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.57 | untouched |
| Operate or maintain distributed power generation equipment, including fuel cells or microturbines, to produce energy on-site for manufacturing or other commercial purposes. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.50 | untouched |
| Open and close valves and switches in sequence to start or shut down auxiliary units. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.44 | untouched |
| Adjust controls to generate specified electrical power or to regulate the flow of power between generating stations and substations. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.47 | untouched |
| 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. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.39 | untouched |
| Operate, control, or monitor integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) or related equipment, such as air separation units, to generate electricity from coal. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | 4.13 | untouched |
| Operate landfill gas, methane, or natural gas fueled electrical generation systems. | 8.3% | 16.7% | 75.0% | – | untouched |
| Clean, lubricate, or maintain equipment, such as generators, turbines, pumps, or compressors, to prevent failure or deterioration. | 4.8% | 3.5% | 91.7% | 4.32 | untouched |
| Make adjustments or minor repairs, such as tightening leaking gland or pipe joints. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.52 | untouched |
| Collect oil, water, or electrolyte samples for laboratory analysis. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | 3.91 | untouched |
| Repair or replace gas piping. | 0.0% | 0.0% | 100.0% | – | untouched |
Task text and importance ratings sourced from O*NET 31.0. Shares computed. The occupation score is the importance-weighted mean. 8 task(s) lacked a usable O*NET weight and are shown but excluded from the weighting.
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.
What this means in practice
Most of this work is not reachable by current systems, so the immediate pressure is on the administrative edges of the role rather than its core: the scheduling, the reporting, the written records. That is where time is recovered.