I have to disagree on working it as if it were energized, you either work it hot or you ground it. If your plan is to ground you follow your work protection for isolation then test & ground. If in the process of testing you find it to be still alive you would stop & find out what went wrong. Again you should never work on primary conductor isolated, but treating it as alive because you will not give it the same respect you would if it really was alive, people have gotten hurt in the past working this way. If you can isolate it you can ground it.