David Rosewater of Sandia National Labratories

IEEE IAS Virtual Event

Originally Aired: June 5th, 2024

Reducing Risk When Performing Energized Work on Batteries

Electrical safety guidance in NFPA 70E for work on batteries can be substantially improved. Article 120, Establishing an Electrically Safe Work Condition was originally developed to manage electrical sources that can be de-energized, e.g., facility ac/dc power circuits. Some have inappropriately attempted to apply electrical safety practices intended for power distribution circuits to battery work. This includes attempts to de-energize batteries, verify zero energy, or establish an electrically safe work condition, none of which can be applied to batteries. However, the principles of the control of hazardous energy, including lockout tagout, can and need to be adapted to work on batteries. This talk explores the modifications required to develop a battery hazardous energy control procedure that can protect workers and avoid accidents. The talk also covers several physical properties and engineering controls common in battery systems that affect the battery risk assessment required by NFPA 70E. Lastly, it will present a list of changes proposed to electrical safety practices, including those outlined in NFPA 70E, that clarify how to control hazardous energy in batteries, helping to avoid future misapplication of power distribution circuit electrical safety practices to batteries.

Biography:

David Rosewater received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from the Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Butte, MT, USA, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA. He currently works as a grid energy storage researcher with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, USA. His research focuses on all aspects of integrating batteries into the power grid including safety, technology standards, modeling, control, and economics. David has served as the chair of the IEEE Std. 2686 working group, chair of the IEEE PES Energy Storage Applications and Technologies (EESAT) conference and was awarded the 2025 Young Professional Achievement Award from the IEEE IAS Electrical Safety Committee. He has held a Professional Engineering license in New Mexico since 2014.