Power Plant Operators Career, Salary and Skills
Power Plant Operators have a BLS-reported national median annual wage of $102,040 based on the 2025 OEWS dataset, with reported national employment of 29,320. Wage data is published for 164 locations.
Occupation description
Control, operate, or maintain machinery to generate electric power. Includes auxiliary equipment operators.
O*NET code
51-8013.00
Job zone
2
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Experience
Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years
National salary and employment
Median annual
$102,040
Hourly median
$49.06
Employment
29,320
Data year
2025
National salary distribution
$61,790
10th
$79,690
25th
$102,040
Median
$119,080
75th
$131,940
90th
Top skills
| Skill | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Operations Monitoring | 4.00 | 4.00 |
| Operation and Control | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.75 | 3.75 |
| Speaking | 3.38 | 3.00 |
| Active Listening | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.25 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Quality Control Analysis | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.12 | 3.12 |
Typical tasks
- Prepare and submit compliance, operational, and safety forms or reports.
- Control generator output to match the phase, frequency, or voltage of electricity supplied to panels.
- Take regulatory action, based on readings from charts, meters and gauges, at established intervals.
- Control power generating equipment, including boilers, turbines, generators, or reactors, using control boards or semi-automatic equipment.
- Start or stop generators, auxiliary pumping equipment, turbines, or other power plant equipment as necessary.
- Monitor power plant equipment and indicators to detect evidence of operating problems.
- Operate or maintain distributed power generation equipment, including fuel cells or microturbines, to produce energy on-site for manufacturing or other commercial purposes.
- Operate landfill gas, methane, or natural gas fueled electrical generation systems.
Technology
- Computerized maintenance management system CMMS
- Continuous emissions monitoring systems CEMS
- Distributed control system DCS
- Email software
- Emerson Ovation
- Gas field monitoring system software
- General Electric Mark VI Distributed Control System DCS
- General Electric Mark VI Integrated Control System ICS
- Interlock shutdown systems
- Landfill gas analysis software
- Landtec System Software LFG Pro
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Office software
Power Plant Operators salary by location
Areas with the highest reported employment for this occupation.
- Power Plant Operators Salary in CAMedian $105,210 · Employment 2,610
- Power Plant Operators Salary in TXMedian $102,510 · Employment 2,100
- Power Plant Operators Salary in NYMedian $106,990 · Employment 1,960
- Power Plant Operators Salary in FLMedian $94,290 · Employment 1,640
- Power Plant Operators Salary in MIMedian $105,820 · Employment 1,220
- Power Plant Operators Salary in INMedian $107,000 · Employment 1,190
- Power Plant Operators Salary in ILMedian $104,440 · Employment 1,160
- Power Plant Operators Salary in New York, NYMedian $131,770 · Employment 1,090
- Power Plant Operators Salary in PAMedian $95,800 · Employment 1,010
- Power Plant Operators Salary in MNMedian $94,390 · Employment 970
- Power Plant Operators Salary in MAMedian $100,140 · Employment 880
- Power Plant Operators Salary in ALMedian $107,080 · Employment 790
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Career and skills data: O*NET 31.0 (onetcenter.org). Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, 2025 (bls.gov/oes). Figures are published survey estimates, not real-time market data.