Will AI replace Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay?
Estimated risk score: 39 out of 100
Lower replacement risk
Estimate from published task research, not reviewed by a person · how we estimate
Within about 19 points for 4 in 5 of the jobs we checked (20 to 58).
For the occupation as a whole, from ratings of its 16 O*NET tasks published in 2023 and calibrated to our hand scores. A specialty inside it can sit higher or lower.
O*NET-SOC 49-2095.00 · Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
Tasks rated in 2023 as ones AI could do or speed up
Tasks a GPT-4-class model could do, or do in half the time or less: 5 of its 16 rated tasks. In O*NET’s words.
- Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance.
- Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary.
- Notify facility personnel of equipment shutdowns.
- Consult manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering personnel to troubleshoot and solve equipment problems and to determine optimum equipment functioning.
- Run signal quality and connectivity tests for individual cables, and record results.
Tasks rated in 2023 as not sped up by AI
Tasks such a model was rated as not speeding up or taking over: 9 of its 16 rated tasks; the first 6 are shown. In O*NET’s words.
- Open and close switches to isolate defective relays, performing adjustments or repairs.
- Repair, replace, and clean equipment and components such as circuit breakers, brushes, and commutators.
- Inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters.
- Construct, test, maintain, and repair substation relay and control systems.
- Disconnect voltage regulators, bolts, and screws, and connect replacement regulators to high-voltage lines.
- Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.
What the job is
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
Also called: Relay Technician, Substation Technician, Substation Electrician, Relay Engineer, Relay Operator, Meter Craftsman, Relay Craftsman, Apparatus Lineman.
Related jobs, estimated
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- Security and Fire Alarm Systems Installersestimate ±1930Lower
Source. This site includes information from the O*NET 30.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. (O*NET, CC BY 4.0.) Task ratings: Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock (2023), “GPTs are GPTs: An Early Look at the Labor Market Impact Potential of Large Language Models”, data used under the MIT licence (licence texts). Our change: we averaged the ratings over this occupation’s tasks and calibrated them to our 0–100 scale. It is not a prediction about any one person and not career advice. Disagree? Write to hello@yourstopwashit.com. How we estimate