Career profile · SOC ESC-88FFE081

power distribution engineer

Power distribution engineers design and operate facilities which distribute power from the distribution facility to the consumers. They research methods for the optimisation of power distribution, and ensure the consumers' needs are met. They also ensure compliance to safety regulations by monitoring the automated processes in plants and directing workflow.

power distribution engineer power distribution engineers design and operate facilities which distribute power from the distribution facility to the consumers. They research methods for the optimisation of power distribution, and ensure the consumers' needs are met. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include energy market, energy, engineering principles, electricity consumption, electrical engineering.

AI exposure
5.0/10
automation risk

Pay in the UK

UK: median £60,303 a year for Electrical engineers (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)

Middle half of full-time jobs: £43,003 to £73,899 a year

UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 2123). ONS rates this estimate reasonably precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)

Pay in India (occupation group)

Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Professionals” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only power distribution engineer, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Urban India
₹42,717 a month
Rural India
₹30,424 a month
All India
₹38,466 a month

Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 2. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report

Top skills

energy market energy engineering principles electricity consumption electrical engineering electrical discharge technical drawings electrical power safety regulations engineering processes smart grids systems

Knowledge you'll build

  • Engineering and Technology
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Design
  • English Language
  • Mathematics
  • Physics
  • Production and Processing
  • Mechanical

What you'd actually do

  • Design, implement, maintain, or improve electrical instruments, equipment, facilities, components, products, or systems for commercial, industrial, or domestic purposes.
  • Oversee project production efforts to assure projects are completed on time and within budget.
  • Direct or coordinate manufacturing, construction, installation, maintenance, support, documentation, or testing activities to ensure compliance with specifications, codes, or customer requirements.
  • Perform detailed calculations to compute and establish manufacturing, construction, or installation standards or specifications.
  • Operate computer-assisted engineering or design software or equipment to perform engineering tasks.
  • Confer with engineers, customers, or others to discuss existing or potential engineering projects or products.

Tools & technology you'd use

Autodesk AutoCAD hot Autodesk Revit hot Microsoft Excel hot Microsoft Office software hot Microsoft PowerPoint hot Python hot The MathWorks MATLAB hot ETAP SKM Systems Analysis Power Tools Apache Subversion SVN hot Autodesk AutoCAD Civil 3D hot Bash hot

Frequently asked questions

What does power distribution engineer do?

Power distribution engineers design and operate facilities which distribute power from the distribution facility to the consumers. They research methods for the optimisation of power distribution, and ensure the consumers' needs are met. They also ensure compliance to safety regulations by monitoring the automated processes in plants and directing workflow.

What skills does power distribution engineer need?

The most in-demand skills for this role include energy market, energy, engineering principles, electricity consumption, electrical engineering, electrical discharge. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.

Will AI replace power distribution engineer?

Our AI-durability model gives power distribution engineer a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.

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