De-energize or
justify?
The energized-work decision walker. Answer six questions in the order NFPA 70E asks them and get a defensible answer — with the section that supports it.
Start the walk ↓SafePath.
Six questions, asked in the order 130.2(A) asks them. The default answer in this standard is de-energize — every other outcome has to be earned, and SafePath makes you earn it out loud.
§ The walk
Will the employee be inside the limited approach boundary, or inside the arc flash boundary, of exposed energized conductors or circuit parts?
Is this a task performed under a normal operating condition? All seven must be true: properly installed; properly maintained; rated for the available fault current; used in accordance with its listing, labeling and the manufacturer’s instructions; doors closed and secured; covers in place and secured; and no evidence of impending failure.
Would de-energizing introduce additional or increased hazards? For example: interrupting life safety systems, shutting down ventilation in a hazardous space, or removing the only illumination.
Is de-energizing infeasible due to equipment design or operational limitations? Testing that can only be done energized, or troubleshooting that requires the circuit live.
What is the reason you cannot de-energize?
Does the permit specify electric shock PPE, arc flash PPE, or both?
§ How it decides
SafePath asks the questions in the order the standard asks them, and it will not let you skip the uncomfortable one.
Boundaries first. If you are not inside the limited approach boundary or the arc flash boundary, there is no energized-work question to answer.
Normal operating condition second. This is what removes most routine tasks from the permit process — and it is seven conditions, every one of which has to be true.
Increased hazard. The first of the two justifications in 130.2(A).
Infeasibility. The second — and the one that gets abused.
Say the reason out loud. The step that makes SafePath different from a flowchart in a binder. Naming the actual reason is what separates a justification from an excuse.
The additional person. New in 2027 at 130.2(A)(2) — and it changes overnight staffing.
§ The three traps it is built to catch
Uptime as infeasibility. The most common and most expensive misreading of 130.2. Business continuity is a commercial constraint. It is not an equipment design or operational limitation.
Redundancy used backwards. "We can't reduce to N" is a risk conversation with operations, not a justification. The redundancy is what makes de-energizing possible.
Assumed condition of maintenance. Two of the seven normal-operating conditions — "properly maintained" and "no evidence of impending failure" — are assertions that require evidence, not defaults. Chapter 2 →
In a 2N facility the honest answer to "can we de-energize this?" is almost always yes — one path at a time. The reason it does not happen is scheduling and organisational friction, not physics or equipment design. Naming that distinction clearly in the permit review is the single highest-leverage thing an EHS manager can do.
§ The app
A native iOS and Android app: the decision walker, the full reference table set, a lookup, and live classroom mode — the question pinned at the top while the tables scroll underneath, with a real push notification when the instructor sends a question.
- Decide — this walker, offline, in your pocket, in an electrical room with no signal.
- Tables — shock boundaries AC and DC, arc flash likelihood, PPE categories, PPE by category, rubber gloves, hard hats, Annex H. Preview the table set →
- Lookup — jump straight to an article or section number.
- Class — live classroom mode for students in an NFPA 70E class.
Everything SafePath does is on this site, free, no login. The app adds offline access, push, and classroom mode — not different answers.
NFPA 70E qualified person training, 2027 edition
Weekly, live, instructor-led. The permit workshop uses this exact decision, against a real task.
See the schedule Bring it onsite