As the nation continues to electrify, the importance of safe work conditions for electricians increases.

In November 2024, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released updated guidance for personal protective equipment (PPE) to provide proper protection from electric arc hazards. It is OSHA’s first arc-flash guidance in almost 20 years.

The updated guidance will help employers provide proper clothing and equipment to employees working on or near energized equipment to protect them from the hazards of electric arc-flashes.

The Partnership for Electrical Safety (PES), an industry group formed in 2020 to advocate for protection for electrical workers, estimates that the updated guidance will help more than 600,000 workers who currently do not have proper PPE. PES chairman Scott Margolin called the new guidance “a game-changer” that could not have come at more appropriate time. He points to the increased investment in large-scale electrification in the United States, such as electric vehicle charging networks and grid upgrades, as compelling factors for improved electrical worker safety.

The new guidance was primarily issued to address the two leading causes of arc flash injuries and fatalities in the United States: 1) considering work to be “de-energized” when it is not, and 2) the mistaken belief that low-voltage isn’t hazardous.

OSHA notes that the significant majority of tasks that claim to be de-energized do not meet the applicable standard. Steps to de-energize or re-energize are still considered energized work.

In addition, according to OSHA, arc flash hazards exist even in situations involving low-voltage applications. These situations can produce molten metal, ignite flammable clothing and cause severe or fatal injury, and require PPE including arc-rated clothing.