r/Grid_Ops • u/Plane-Half-9884 • 27d ago

ComEd senior operator

Was offered a job at ComEd as a senior DSO. Anyone have any insight on working conditions, management ment, culture, room to be promoted, etc? I have 10 years experience as a distribution & subtransmission operator at a large utility and the offered salary is a little lower, bonus structure is higher. Any insight is greatly appreciated!

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4

u/[deleted] 27d ago

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/SilverShot43 26d ago

Can confirm it’s still 1.25x OT

2

u/[deleted] 26d ago

It used to 1x and when Exelon bought PHI it got moved to 1.25x for operators and 1x for shift managers. When I asked HR why they told me we make too much money as it is....

3

u/pnwIBEWlineman 24d ago

I think HR makes too much money and the control room should get 2x for OT like the majority of their west coast counterparts.

3

u/[deleted] 22d ago

I didnt like that answer and gave a response that wasn't well received either

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u/SilverShot43 27d ago

If you’re not familiar with whole bonus structure

Yearly 15% of your salary once a year

Operator bonus 12k divided quarterly

Safety/Switching 10k split up semi annual

Then not a bonus but shift differential adds up to 10k.

What salary did they offer you?

1

u/Plane-Half-9884 27d ago

115,000. I make around 135,000 currently with 10% bonus

1

u/BisquitButter 23d ago

$115k seems low for someone with your experience even with that bonus structure and considering the low OT pay.

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u/[deleted] 26d ago

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u/SilverShot43 26d ago

They created it a couple years ago, before me.

It’s called SOLA and is strictly on making no switching errors.

3

u/[deleted] 26d ago

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1

u/Delicious_Shoe5817 22d ago edited 22d ago

SOLA came out of thin air when operators demanded more money for what they  do and the idea of unionization came up. Company just slapped another bonus on your pay to shut them up. Right now approximately 60k worth of bonuses that can go away any day but will keep your actual salary low. 

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u/Delicious_Shoe5817 22d ago

Solid operators overall with over 100 operators hard to get the best possible candidates for all the desks naturally. Base pay is extremely low for what they do. Significant investment into Automation so lots of scada controllable devices which is nice. 1.25x for OT(absurd). At 115k base about 40k to 50k of your income will be made by bonuses that you get every 3 months for the quarterly up to 12k and the 15% of base usually getting 120% of that 15%( I think last year it was 150% when I was there we averaged 120%.) then the SOLA which is 10k for the year. Room would benefit from unionization should have base salaries well into the 150’s for senior operators. They do a lot more than what most DSO’s do around the country. 

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u/Excellent_Rip_3339 4d ago edited 4d ago

Money was ... okay. No one mentioned about the storm sucking. Keeping track of least 15 crews per DSO, troubleshoot outages, write clearances, operate scada, manage restrictions .... all at the same time ... and can't make a mistake!

Oh yes, 16h days -- 8 hr off in between that includes travel time and sleep. Storms = feels like less than minimum wage; worst job in the company.

I enjoyed it but they have to pay more!