Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Also called: Apparatus Lineman, Corrosion Control Fitter, Corrosion Technician, Electrical and Instrumentation Technician (E and I Technician), Electrical Maintenance Mechanic, Electrical Technician, Electrical Test Technician (Electrical Test Tech), Field Electronics Tech (Field Electronics Technician)
Inspect, test, repair, or maintain electrical equipment in generating stations, substations, and in-service relays.
What Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay do
Typical tasks
- Inspect and test equipment and circuits to identify malfunctions or defects, using wiring diagrams and testing devices such as ohmmeters, voltmeters, or ammeters.
- Prepare and maintain records detailing tests, repairs, and maintenance.
- Consult manuals, schematics, wiring diagrams, and engineering personnel to troubleshoot and solve equipment problems and to determine optimum equipment functioning.
- Analyze test data to diagnose malfunctions, to determine performance characteristics of systems, or to evaluate effects of system modifications.
- Open and close switches to isolate defective relays, performing adjustments or repairs.
- Notify facility personnel of equipment shutdowns.
- Repair, replace, and clean equipment and components such as circuit breakers, brushes, and commutators.
- Run signal quality and connectivity tests for individual cables, and record results.
- Maintain inventories of spare parts for all equipment, requisitioning parts as necessary.
- Construct, test, maintain, and repair substation relay and control systems.
- Test insulators and bushings of equipment by inducing voltage across insulation, testing current, and calculating insulation loss.
- Schedule and supervise the construction and testing of special devices and the implementation of unique monitoring or control systems.
Typical path into the job (BLS)
Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay salary
The median annual wage for Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay is $103,020 (BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025–35, national). The lowest 10 percent earn less than $65,730 and the highest 10 percent earn more than $129,920. The mean annual wage is $100,760.
The mean hourly wage of $48.00 is 6.6× the federal minimum wage of $7.25. State minimums are higher in most large states. Minimum wage by state →
How does your pay compare with people your age?
Your numbers are not sent or stored. The comparison uses this occupation's BLS wage percentiles, adjusted for age with BLS median weekly earnings by age group (Q3 2026).
Pay by percentile
Annual wage percentiles from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Percentiles are a good proxy for pay by experience.
Projected pay for Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay (3, 5 and 10 years)est.
Today $103,020 → in 3 years $113,600 → in 5 years $121,300 → in 10 years $142,800 (10-year range $122,800–$165,800). The model assumes pay growth of +3.3% per year.
What drives the annual growth rate
Projected pay = current pay × (1 + annual growth)^years. The annual growth rate starts from a base wage-growth rate and adds or subtracts labor demand (BLS projected employment growth), wage momentum and AI replacement risk for each occupation. Projections are not guarantees. How it is calculated →
Outlook score for Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Each component is a percentile rank among all occupations in the same country (0–100). Weights: labor demand 25, wage momentum / openings 15, pay level 15, AI resistance 25, aging workforce 10 (Japan only), entry barrier 10.
Will AI replace Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay? AI replacement risk
How AI is changing this job
A written analysis for this occupation is being prepared.
AI replacement risk compares the parts of a job that are easy to hand to AI or software (processing information, documentation, repetitive computer work) with the parts that are hard to automate (physical work, working closely with people, judgment in unpredictable settings), using O*NET work activities, work context, skills and knowledge. The result is a relative position among all occupations in the country, scaled to 0–100%. Methodology →
Labor demand for Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Employment projections are from the BLS Employment Projections program (2025–35). Annual openings include both new jobs and replacement of workers who leave the occupation.
Skills, education and requirements for Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Key skills
O*NET skill level ratings (0–7).
Key knowledge areas
What the work involves
Important abilities
Education of workers
Training before entry
Related work experience
Job Zone 3 — medium preparation needed (O*NET)
Difficulty of entry: ★★★☆☆ Moderate (from education, training, experience and Job Zone)
How to become Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
A step-by-step guide for this occupation is being prepared. The education, training and experience data above show the typical path.
Career path and how to earn more as Electrical and Electronics Repairers, Powerhouse, Substation, and Relay
Career-path guidance is being prepared. Pay by percentile is shown in the Pay section.