Energized work is the exception — the permit proves it
Every electrician has heard some version of "just do it hot, we can't shut it down." Most of the time that isn't true — the outage is inconvenient, not impossible. The energized electrical work permit (EEWP) exists to make that decision visible: someone has to write down why the equipment can't be de-energized, a qualified person has to assess the shock and arc flash risk, and people with authority have to sign their names to it. If the justification can't survive being written down, the work gets done de-energized.
The free template above gives you a blank permit, a filled-in example, and an Energized Work Justification guidance tab. The permit organizes the elements NFPA 70E 130.2(B) requires (in our own layout and wording) and adds live checks that roll up into one PERMIT STATUS line — it won't read AUTHORIZED if the justification is schedule or cost, the gloves are under-rated or out of test, the PPE arc rating is below the incident energy, the qualified person says No, or the approvals aren't in.
Important: the permit records a decision. It does not make energized work safe, and it is not a substitute for a qualified person's shock and arc flash risk assessment or your arc flash study.
De-energize first: what the rules say
OSHA's construction rule, 29 CFR 1926.416(a)(1), doesn't allow employees to work close enough to contact an electric power circuit unless they're protected by de-energizing and grounding it, or by guarding it effectively with insulation or other means. The general-industry rule, 1910.333(a)(1), requires live parts to be de-energized before work unless de-energizing introduces additional or increased hazards or is infeasible because of equipment design or operational limitations — and its notes give examples of each.
NFPA 70E makes an electrically safe work condition the primary protective strategy (Article 120 covers establishing it: identify sources, open disconnects, lock out, test for absence of voltage, ground where needed). Section 130.2(A) limits energized work to the same kinds of justification, and 130.2(B) requires a written permit when the work is energized. Verify the section numbers and requirements against the edition adopted by your AHJ or required by your contract.
What the permit covers
Part A — the requester
- Circuit and equipment. Equipment ID, location, nominal voltage and system, what feeds it, drawing references, and whether a current arc flash label is on the equipment.
- Justification. A category from the dropdown and a specific explanation. "Greater hazard," "infeasible," and "diagnostic testing" are recorded; "schedule / cost / convenience" turns the status to NOT AUTHORIZED.
Part B — the qualified persons
- Work description and safe work practices, step by step, with the hazard and control at each step.
- Shock risk assessment. Voltage, limited and restricted approach boundaries (from the NFPA 70E 130.4 table for your voltage), rubber glove class and last test date, and other shock protection. The sheet checks glove class against voltage using the OSHA 1910.137 maximum-use voltages and flags gloves past the 6-month retest.
- Arc flash risk assessment. Method (incident energy analysis or PPE category method), working distance, incident energy, arc flash boundary, PPE category if used, and the arc rating of the PPE selected. The sheet flags PPE rated below the incident energy and studies older than 5 years.
- Keeping unqualified people out. The barricade distance is calculated as the greater of the arc flash boundary and limited approach boundary, plus a checklist for barricades, signs, attendant, and door control.
- Job briefing. Date, who led it, the topics covered, and signatures of everyone inside the boundaries.
- Qualified person's agreement that the work can be done safely as planned. A No stops the permit.
Part C — approvals
Up to four approval lines, with a cell for how many your program requires. Close-out records when work finished, that covers and dead-fronts were reinstalled, and any problems or near misses.
Writing a justification that holds up
A good justification is specific and checkable: "Panel CR-4B feeds ICU life-support receptacles in 12 occupied beds; the hospital cannot relocate patients or back-feed the branch; the owner reviewed an after-hours outage with patient transfer and rejected it in writing." A bad one is "customer won't allow a shutdown" or "it's only 277 volts."
Before accepting energized work, push on the alternatives: a planned outage on nights or a weekend, a temporary generator or back-feed, re-sequencing the work so the tie-in happens during an existing shutdown, or splitting the task so only the unavoidable part is done live. The Justification tab walks through the sequence and lists what is and isn't a valid reason.
Tasks that may not need a written permit
NFPA 70E 130.2(B)(3) exempts some tasks from the written permit when qualified persons do them using the required safe work practices and PPE — for example testing, troubleshooting, and voltage measuring; thermography and visual inspection that stay outside the restricted approach boundary; and access to areas with energized equipment where no electrical work is done. The risk assessments, PPE, and boundaries still apply, and many companies require a permit anyway. Picking "Diagnostic testing / troubleshooting" on the template records that note.
The example tab
The EEWP Example tab shows a completed permit for installing a breaker in a 480Y/277V critical-branch panel serving an occupied ICU — a legitimate greater-hazard case. Incident energy is 5.8 cal/cm² at 18 inches with an 8 cal/cm² PPE rating, Class 0 gloves tested within six months, barricade at 4.1 ft, three approvals. Change any value — pick Class 00 gloves, drop the arc rating to 4, or switch the justification to schedule — and watch the status change. The values are illustrative; your numbers come from your study and your qualified person.
Common EEWP mistakes
- Permit as a formality. If the permit is always approved, it isn't a control. Track how many are requested versus approved.
- No label, no study, "Category 2 should be fine." Without a study or a table-method case that fits the equipment, nobody knows the incident energy.
- Out-of-test gloves. Rubber insulating gloves must be electrically retested at 6-month intervals once issued (1910.137 Table I-5) and air-tested before each day's use.
- Barricade at the wrong distance. Unqualified people belong outside the larger of the arc flash and limited approach boundaries.
- Briefing skipped because "we've done this a hundred times." That is exactly when the step that changed gets missed.
- No emergency plan. Someone trained in release-from-contact and CPR/AED, and a known AED location, before the cover comes off.
Beyond the spreadsheet
A signed EEWP is only useful if you can find it. Field PM's safety module keeps permits, JSAs, and inspections on your crew's phones, signed at the panel and filed to the project; the form library keeps every crew on the same version. See how Field PM works for electrical contractors, or start a free 30-day trial.
Related templates and tools
- Electrical JSA template — plan the task before the permit
- Hot work permit
- Confined space entry permit — for vault and manhole work
- Panel schedule template
- Crane power line clearance chart
- Voltage drop calculator
- Browse all free construction templates
This template is a field aid, not engineering or legal advice. NFPA 70E is cited by section and described in our own words — verify against the edition adopted by your AHJ. Boundaries, incident energy, and PPE must come from a qualified person's assessment and your arc flash study.
