Labour market information Explore careers by essential skills

• Scan tags on electrical equipment to verify voltages, manufacturers' names, models and capacities. (1)
• Refer to lists to obtain emergency contact names and telephone numbers. (1)
• Read signs identifying types of personal protective equipment to wear in specific areas. (1)
• Read shift schedules to determine work locations, times and duties. (2)
• Obtain information from sketches, pictures or icons on supervisory control and data acquisition systems (SCADA). For example, power distribution systems may be presented as schematics on display screens. (2)
• Review schematic drawings of mechanical and electrical systems to understand their operation. They may also make changes to schematic drawings to reflect modifications to equipment and processes. (3)
• Review work order forms completed by electrical and mechanical maintenance crews. They search labelled sections of each form to locate information about types of work done, equipment locations and maintenance crew involved. (3)
• Complete inspection, test and electricity stoppage or outage report forms. For example, to fill in system test forms, they may enter checkmarks, gauge and meter readings, and short sentences to describe any unusual readings. (3)
• May take information from scale drawings when troubleshooting faulty equipment or assisting maintenance crews on equipment repairs and overhauls. For example, they may look at assembly drawings to understand how boilers are assembled. They may also interpret scale maps of power lines to determine routing possibilities. (3)
• Interpret information from graphs to identify fluctuations in operating system levels, depict electricity consumption by area, compare generation levels to demand, ensure that measurements and readings are within acceptable operating ranges and trace the origin of equipment faults. They combine information from several graphs to monitor the generation or distribution of electrical power. (4)

• Write e-mail to co-workers and colleagues to request information, coordinate activities and respond to enquiries. (1)
• Write short descriptions of equipment faults on work order or test permit forms addressed to electrical and mechanical maintenance crews. (1)
• Write comments into work logs to keep a record of what occurred during their shifts, actions they took and outstanding tasks that need to be completed by operators on subsequent shifts. (2)
• Write brief submissions to supervisors and managers to suggest changes in operating procedures. In these submissions, they explain how the proposed changes could save time and money. (2)
• Write short reports detailing test results or special events such as equipment shutdowns or system outages. These reports vary in length and complexity, but each of them describes how the test or event was planned, executed, monitored and its outcomes. (3)
• Prepare comprehensive procedures to be used when inspecting, operating or testing power equipment. These procedures establish the rules and steps they have to follow when accomplishing their tasks. These procedures must be explicit and precise to rule out any ambiguities. (3)

• May calculate line amounts, taxes and totals on purchase requisitions. (2)
• Calculate travel claim amounts. They calculate reimbursements for the use of personal vehicles at per kilometre rates and add amounts for accommodation, meals and other expenses. (2)

• Determine crew requirements and set schedules for the routine inspection and testing of generation or distribution equipment. (2)
• May schedule power station and transmission system loading and the importing and exporting of electricity to meet distribution demands during daily operations. There are fluctuations in the demand and availability of electricity, so transmission loads must be adjusted accordingly. (3)
• Prepare and monitor schedules which identify activities and target completion times for power plant equipment shutdowns, planned outages and repairs. They have to ensure that no service area is left without power longer than originally scheduled and that electricity is available for the transmission networks as needed. (4)

• Measure the volumes of coolant or oil to be poured into machinery by referring to graduations on the sides of containers. (1)
• May take measurements from scale maps to obtain the distances covered by power lines between generation and distribution equipment. (2)
• Calculate amperages, line voltages and resistances using Ohm's law. (2)
• May take precise measurements of water levels on either side of debris using string gauges and automated monitoring systems to detect blockages. (3)

• Monitor temperature, fluid, pressure and other gauge readings on a variety of equipment and operating systems to verify if they are within acceptable ranges and identify the need for equipment recalibration and repair. (2)
• Assess the accuracy of computer monitoring system readings. They compare system readings with analog and digital readings over several shifts to identify erroneous reporting. They count the number of times alarms went off and the number of false alarms. (2)
• Collect and analyse data on power usage and generation levels. For example, they may compare the amounts of electricity used in given areas over certain periods of time to depict trends in consumption. They may also compare amounts of electricity coming into systems to amounts of electricity going out to assess equilibrium. They are then able to determine generation levels required to meet projected demands based on these analyses. (3)

• May estimate the time needed by work crews for various maintenance tasks using past experience as a guide. (1)
• May estimate how long it will take for water to return to pre-release levels by considering factors such as the amounts of water released and precipitation levels. (2)

• May talk to suppliers or purchasing departments to order or inquire about personal protective equipment and office supplies. (1)
• Give directions to electrical and mechanical maintenance crews and discuss equipment failures and repairs with them. For example, a power station operator may give background information about a malfunctioning generator. (2)
• Interact with outgoing shift operators to discuss events such as equipment shutdowns or system outages that have happened during their shifts. They also discuss tasks which are scheduled for upcoming shifts and indicate their priority. (2)
• Meet with supervisors to obtain guidance and approvals, and discuss performance targets, work assignments, equipment failures and other significant occurrences such as electrical storms or flooding. They may also meet with supervisors and managers to present their analyses and recommendations for the shutdown, repair or purchase of equipment. (3)
• Interact with co-workers, colleagues and clients to coordinate tasks and transactions. For example, power systems operators stay in close contact with power station operators to ensure enough power is being generated to meet distribution demands. Power station operators communicate with power systems operators and buyers to regulate and coordinate transmission loads, frequencies and line voltages. (3)
• Participate in meetings with other operators and supervisors to discuss the current status of generation or transmission systems, policy and procedure changes, health and safety hazards, test results and upcoming equipment repairs. At these meetings, they may be asked to present procedures they have developed or reports they have written. (3)

• Face equipment failures which constitute safety hazards. They advise supervisors and isolate equipment so it can be repaired or replaced by maintenance staff. (1)
• Are notified that operators for upcoming shifts have called in sick. They contact on-call employees to check their availabilities. If they cannot find replacement workers, they fill in the next shifts themselves. (2)
• Sometimes face shortages of maintenance crews when they need work done on generators, transformers, switching gear and other equipment. They review work orders and identify crews they can remove from low-priority tasks to enable the needed maintenance to be completed first. (2)
• Face unscheduled power outages which adversely affect clients. They locate faulty equipment and direct power restoration operations to get systems back on line as soon and as safely as possible. Should a generator cease to be operational, a power systems operator may reroute electricity and increase the capacity of other generators. (3)

• May decide which tasks to assign to which field crews. They may consider crews' skill levels, experience with particular equipment and ability to work quickly and safely. (2)
• May decide when probes and filters should be changed, and when lubricants should be added to operating equipment. They may perform visual checks and consider factors such as the time of the year and the amount of water flowing through systems. (2)
• May decide when to bump up generation capacities due to anticipated increases in demand. They make these decisions based on previous usage rates. Poor decision making may incur unnecessary operating expenses. (3)
• Decide to shut down power units because of equipment malfunctions and anomalies. They consider factors such as the nature of the failures and potential hazards to personnel and the environment. Failure to make the right decisions may result in emissions or leaks and heavy penalties for their organizations. (4)

• Evaluate the appropriateness of planned outages. They consider the perspectives of work crews and consumers and the possible financial ramifications of shutting power down within service areas for specified periods of time. (2)
• Evaluate the completeness and clarity of procedures that have been written for the inspection, operation and testing of power equipment. They ensure that crucial information has not been omitted and wording is not open to misinterpretation. (3)
• Evaluate the sufficiency and quality of repair work done by mechanical and electrical maintenance crews. They review work orders to verify that specified tasks have been performed, test repaired equipment to determine if it is functioning correctly and visually inspect work areas to ensure there is no dirt and debris remaining. (3)
• Assess the appropriateness and efficiency of various rerouting options to accommodate scheduled power outages. They consider factors such as capacity levels of equipment along the routes and the likelihood of overloads and determine the best course of action to minimize inconvenience and loss for customers. (3)

Power systems and power station operators have to complete a set of routine tasks within their shifts to ensure adherence to operational standards. However, the order in which they perform their tasks is dependant upon what happens during shifts. They must be able to react quickly to situations as they arise and manage priorities. Equipment breakdowns, shortages of maintenance crews, delays in repairs, unplanned outages, storms, floods and other emergencies force them to frequently reorganize job tasks.

Power systems and power station operators assist their supervisors in organizing, planning, scheduling and monitoring the activities of mechanical and electrical maintenance crews.

• Remember procedures to be used when inspecting, operating and testing power equipment.
• Remember codes assigned to equipment components to speed up the process of documenting lockouts.
• Remember the acceptable range of values for temperature, fluid, pressure and other parameters of the equipment and systems they operate.

• Refer to textbooks to find mathematical formulas. (1)
• Find historical operating data such as temperature, gauge and meter readings by searching databases. (2)
• Refer to procedures manuals to find the steps needed to manage emergencies. (2)

• Use word processing. For example, they may write, edit and format text for reports, procedures and other documents. (2)
• Use databases. For example, they may enter, view and retrieve equipment maintenance, test and outage data. (2)
• Use spreadsheets. For example, they may enter data into existing spreadsheet templates to track the flows of electrical power in transmission networks. (2)
• Use the Internet. For example, they may perform keyword searches to get information about electrical generating stations and equipment from the Internet. They may also use directories on intranets to access environmental data, procedures, operating manuals, and health and safety information. (2)
• Use computer-assisted design, manufacturing and machining. For example, they may use supervisory control and data acquisition systems to monitor equipment readings and to assess systems' operational status. (3)
• Use communication software. For example, they may use communication software to create and maintain distribution lists, receive correspondence and send e-mail and attachments to supervisors and co-workers. They may relay information to field crews via their Blackberries or text pagers. (3)

Power systems and power station operators work primarily as members of highly-integrated generation and transmission teams but they also perform some tasks independently. Power systems and power station operators operate systems to control the flow of power throughout transmission networks. They stay in contact with power station operators to ensure enough power is being generated to meet distribution demands. They communicate regularly to regulate and coordinate transmission loads, frequencies and line voltages. They also coordinate their work with that of electrical and mechanical maintenance personnel to locate system problems, issue work orders and assist in system testing. Power systems operators work independently to review documents, complete reports and inspect equipment. Power station operators work independently when inspecting reactors, turbines, boilers, generators, condensers and other power plant equipment. (3)

Power systems and power station operators are required to continually update their skills and knowledge to keep up with changes in technology and safety regulations. On a day-to-day basis, they learn by talking to co-workers and reading information found in websites, trade publications, company reports, operating and procedures manuals, and textbooks. They may be required to write exams to obtain certification through industry associations or councils. To keep licenses current, they may be required to develop their own learning plans and attend courses addressing new equipment operations, spill management procedures or health and safety issues, such as first aid, isolation, confined spaces or dangerous goods transportation.