Position Overview
A power plant technician is hired by companies whose main business is to generate electricity, or other forms of power. These individuals are required to be exceptionally hands-on in handling power generation equipment and machinery – usually, people with prior experience are hired as power plant technicians.
Position Requirements
Typically, a high school diploma or a GED equivalent is sufficient to work as a power plant technician. If you have worked in a similar capacity previously, there is a great chance that you will be given high consideration when the selection process begins.
As a power plant technician, it is important that you possess exceptional skills in following directions, have great troubleshooting skills, and can easily handle adversities at the work place. Basic principles of this work, and knowledge of complex machine and equipment operations are absolutely necessary for this work. Moreover, you will need to demonstrate expertise in juggling deadlines, and ensuring that system downtime is minimized as much as possible.
Working as a power plant technician means that you will be on your feet most of the day. It is important for you to be physically agile, and have the capacity and will to work in extreme temperatures. Some of the main duties that a power plant technician is expected to perform on any typical work day include:
Power Plant Technician Duties and Responsibilities
• Test and calibrate power plants to established standards, to ensure that they are in good working order.
• Install and adjust a variety of mechanical equipment and parts of electrical machinery according to set standards.
• Overhaul and adjust turbines, generators, boilers, pumps, valves, and pneumatic controls.
• Make repairs on high pressure vessels such as hand holes, boiler tubes, drums, steam lines, fire boxes, and nose castings.
• Produce replacement parts, and perform repair and finishing on mental components using specialized equipment such as carbide steel grinders.
• Install insulation, metal coverings, and insulating blankets, on high pressure step piping, and low pressure steam piping.
• Create an effective program of power plant maintenance, and perform both preventative and regular maintenance work on them, in sync with set protocols.
• Install and test heating, ventilation, and air conditioning such as compressors, condensers, pumps and control systems.
• Make adjustments or minor repairs including tightening joints and managing leaks, and report need for major repairs.
• Monitor and inspect power plant equipment and machines, to detect evidence of operations malfunctions.
• Place standby emergency equipment to ensure that downtime is minimized in case of power failures.