Gas & Electric Distribution Dispatcher

Job Summary

The Distribution Dispatcher provides emergency and non-emergency dispatch of gas and electric trouble events to field responders. Distribution Dispatchers communicate important customer and facility information to field responders with use of phone, computer and radio systems. 

Dispatchers use many computer systems and often need to multi-task during high volume times.

Job Responsibilities

Ensure efficient incoming and outgoing employee communications:

• • Communicates with site employees by radio, computer and phone
  • Calls technical personnel for special problems
  • Update Public Affairs, local supervision, Account Executives of important trouble situations

Connects with field responders and dispatches gas & electric trouble events:

• • Uses computerized dialer system to connect with responders after regular business hours
  • Dispatches emergency trouble events in a timely fashion
  • Assigns trouble events to field responder in the Outage Management System

Manages trouble events and records field responder activities:

• • Uses Outage Management System to organize, prioritize and manage trouble events
  • Ping meters to determine if customer have electricity at meter
  • Updates estimated repair times
  • Records field responder activities in the Outage Management System
  • Collects closure information for electric & gas events and passes on follow-up information to local sites

Monitor weather reports, implement storm procedures:

• • Observes weather activity from multiple weather information sources
  • Calls local site supervision to inform them of high volume and implement storm procedures
  • Sends weather alerts over radio system to alert working field responders of potential hazards

Dispatch and request emergency locates:

• • Dispatches emergency, one hour and 24 hour locates during and after regular business hours
  • Requests emergency locates for field employees that are required to dig to repair facilities after regular business hours

Monitors e-mail, printer, phones and fax machine:

• • Reports telecommunication & radio system troubles
  • Reports site camera and video problems or failures
  • Receives paper trouble events that may be faxed to Central Dispatch due to computer problems
  • Receives paper orders on printer or fax machine from a variety of sources and dispatches them to the appropriate responder

Assist with company security procedures:

• • Notifies local leadership of threats made to company employees & facilities
  • Sends threat alert over radio system to alert working field personnel of potential hazard
  • Assist site employees to gain access to company buildings when they are without their company keycard

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Education Requirements

• High School Diploma, HSED or GED and
• Successful completion of a credited Technical College AC/DC course.

Or

• Successful completion of a credited Technical College Line Electrician Course.

Minimum Experience Requirements

• 1 year of distribution utility experience in either electric, gas or call center operations.
• 1 year of experience with Microsoft Office products.

Testing Requirements

• Basic Clerical Aptitude test (BCAB) (aka SASS): Ability to classify information according to preset rules; spelling and grammar; basic mathematics; filing and sorting information.