Being in Control: Exploring the Impact of Electric Power System Changes on Control Room Operator Work

Licentiatavhandling, 2025

Electricity demand is projected to increase globally, affecting both the power generation and the electric power control systems, which are supervised and run by operators with support from various technical systems. This licentiate holistically explores and describes how the work of control room operators is affected by electric power system changes anticipated by domain experts, with a particular focus on the transmission system operator domain. The research employs semi-structured interview and questionnaire studies and uses the Socio-Technical framework of Leavitt’s system model as an analytical tool. Results indicate that the volatile system has shifted tasks from monitoring to action, yet automation is expected to make operator tasks more passive, leading to challenges during system failures. Higher degrees of automation align with the expressed needs among operators working in the transmission system operator domain, due to the electric power system’s complexity, but historical tool introduction and the industry’s conservative mind-set creates uncertainty about new systems’ effectiveness. Operators must maintain facility knowledge and understand automated systems to make informed decisions, despite potential skill shifts towards bug fixing and algorithm understanding. Recurrent training is necessary to handle system failures and maintain manual operation capabilities, with increased IT competence required due to rising disturbances. As manual tasks decrease, new roles may emerge, and organisational structures must evolve to support these changes, including developing new IT departments and tailored training programs. This licentiate thesis advocates for a comprehensive design of the entire control room system to ensure stability and safety, and calls for an investigation into the transparency of automated systems. The thesis explores the potential future roles of operators working in control room systems, focusing on how they can continue being in control while interacting with automation in dynamic environments. To conclude, as automation and digitalisation increase, the roles of control room system operators must be redefined to match the system development. This involves confidence in their ability to intervene, continuous training, and effective human-machine collaboration. Organisations need to adapt by developing new IT departments, tailored training programs, and support systems to ensure operators’ psychological well-being and adaptability.