David Stone, Lead System Operator, monitors real-time grid conditions inside NV Energy’s control room, helping ensure the system stays balanced, reliable, and safe around the clock.
The first thing you notice when you step into NV Energy’s control room is how quiet it is.
The room is dim, lit by the glow of screens. There’s a steady hum from computers, the occasional click of a keyboard, and low conversations on headsets. There’s no chaos, no raised voices. Every operator is focused, eyes locked on real-time data flowing across the grid.
Despite the calm, a tremendous amount is happening.
This is the nerve center of NV Energy’s system, where experienced IBEW operators monitor, balance, and protect the flow of electricity across Northern Nevada, every second of every day.
Different Desks, One Mission
Carter Forsmark, Distribution Operator, is part of the tight-knit team inside NV Energy’s control room, where operators rely on one another to manage outages and protect reliability.
The control room is made up of several key roles. While each of them works together, they are responsible for a different layer of the system.
Distribution operators oversee the local system that delivers power directly to homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses. They manage outages, respond to emergencies, and coordinate switching orders with crews in the field.
Transmission operators manage the high-voltage backbone of the grid, ensuring power moves safely between substations and regions without overloading equipment.
Joe Matthews, Transmission Operator, monitors the high-voltage backbone of the grid, helping ensure power moves safely between substations and regions.
Balancing Authority operators keep generation and demand perfectly matched in real time, coordinating power plants, imports, and exports across the Western Interconnection to keep the system stable.
“It’s Troubleshooting—Just on the Power Grid”
David Stone, a Lead System Operator and longtime IBEW member, has worked nearly every desk in the room. He describes the grid as constantly changing as generation ramps up and down across the state.
“My job is to make sure the system stays reliable,” Stone said. “The grid is always changing, so we’re constantly adjusting to make sure we don’t overload equipment and everything stays safe.”
Stone compares the work to his lifelong hobby of restoring old cars.
IBEW Local 1245 members work in the NV Energy Control Room in Reno.
“It’s troubleshooting—just on the power grid,” he said. “You’re always figuring out what’s happening and how to fix it.”
But the job isn’t just technical. Operators are in constant communication with linemen, substation electricians, and power plant workers, often during high-stress situations and there is a real human component to that work.
“Crews out there are working around 14,000 volts all the way up to 500,000 volts,” Stone added. “If someone in the field is stressed or overwhelmed, we slow it down. Our job is to keep the people out there safe, and to keep the equipment safe too.”
Balancing the System—Second by Second
Nate Moran, Balancing Authority Operator, coordinates generation, imports, and exports to maintain system balance.
For Nate Moran, a Balancing Authority Operator, the work is about solving problems that most people never see.
“You’re constantly solving issues on the system in real time,” said Moran.
From his desk, Moran helps ensure that generation always matches demand. If that balance is off, the consequences can ripple quickly, from outages to public safety risks.
Seeing the Whole Picture
Josh Halliburton, Distribution Operator, oversees the local power system from NV Energy’s control room, coordinating outages, switching, and field crews to keep communities energized and safe.
Josh Halliburton, a Distribution Operator, says the biggest surprise for many is realizing how much of the system is coordinated from this one room.
“Most people don’t even know rooms like this exist,” Halliburton said. “But this room sees the whole system, not just one small piece of it.”
Before coming to the control room, Halliburton spent years in the field, first as an apprentice lineman and later working streetlights and outage response alongside troublemen in Reno. That experience gives him a deep understanding of what crews are facing on the ground when they call in.
Today, Halliburton oversees real-time outages, switching requests, and emergency response across Northern Nevada—sometimes with the ability to turn entire circuits or neighborhoods on or off to protect public safety and support field crews working on everything from vehicle strikes to damaged underground equipment.
Scott Hanson, Distribution Operator, brings power plant experience to NV Energy’s control room, helping monitor and manage the distribution system in real time.
Trust & Constant Learning
Operators rely on calm communication, deep experience, and mutual respect—especially during storms, fires, or large-scale outages. Many come to the control room after years in power plants, substations, or line work, bringing real-world knowledge that informs every decision.
Scott Hanson, a Distribution Operator, came to the control room after working at geothermal and natural gas power plants, giving him firsthand experience with how electricity is generated before it ever reaches the grid.
“In a way, it’s like learning a whole new trade,” Hanson said. “You’re constantly thinking, constantly paying attention.”
Hanson says the close quarters of the control room make teamwork essential.
Josh Halliburton, Distribution Operator, works in the NV Energy Control Room in Reno, Nevada.
“You definitely spend more time with your coworkers than your family,” he said. “The camaraderie everyone has and the willingness to work together—it’s great.”
Adam Weber, IBEW 1245 Business Representative for NV Energy, says that trust is built through training, standards, and shared accountability. “Union standards create the trust that allows people in the field to do their jobs safely,” said Adam Weber, IBEW 1245 Business Representative for NV Energy.
-Shannan Velayas, Communications Director