This determination should be made by airport management or the electrical supervisor, however, this determination should be made with great caution. It is easy to say, “That circuit cannot be shut down.” Is this actually a true statement? Perhaps, “It is very inconvenient to shut it down,” is a more accurate statement. Is the desired job so critical that it needs to be done immediately when the lights are being used, or could it wait a little while—perhaps until daylight? If it is not possible to shut a circuit down, what is the plan for when it fails on its own? When possibilities and consequences are considered, one may find that there is a way to complete the job de-energized.

Some tasks, such as calibrating a regulator, are easiest done while the system is energized. In this case, it may be worthwhile to set up an energized work permit and give special training to workers, or it might be more practical and economical to hire an electrical contractor or factory technician to come in and do the work in one short session annually. Large airports often have enough work requiring licensed electricians on staff to justify employing them. Small airports may not have the justification, funding, or means to employ licensed electricians. However, if small airports without licensed electricians on staff face necessary energized work requirements, they must remain within their task limits of an electrically safe work condition and forgo those tasks. The good news is that a majority of airfield lighting tasks can be accomplished within an electrically safe work condition.