Pacific Gas and Electric Company Reminds Customers to Call Before You Dig
March 31 2009 - 11:12AM
PR Newswire (US)
Dial 811 Before Any Excavation Project SAN FRANCISCO, March 31
/PRNewswire/ -- April is safe digging month, and as people plan
various garden and home improvement projects this spring, Pacific
Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reminds customers to always
call 811 before digging. Whether it's planting a tree, installing a
sprinkler system or building a fence, homeowners and professional
excavators need to know where gas and electric lines lay
underground. The 811 hotline is a free service to obtain important
information on what utilities exist beneath the excavation area.
Natural gas pipelines, electric power lines and other utilities
buried underground can lie within just a few feet of the surface.
Accidental contact with these lines can be dangerous and even
fatal. California law requires customers to notify utilities at
least two working days before digging. Calling 811 puts customers
in direct contact with Underground Service Alert (USA), a free
utility notification service for anyone who plans any type of
excavation project, no matter how small. Customers can call USA
from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for holidays.
Accidental damage to utility lines can disrupt gas and electric
service to an entire neighborhood, cause significant property
damage and lead to serious injury. USA notifies local utility
companies to go out and mark the approximate location of their
underground facilities in and around the excavation site. When
underground lines are marked, customers can avoid them and prevent
serious accidents from occurring. In addition to calling 811,
PG&E offers these other tips for a safe excavation: -- Call 811
at least 2 working days prior and up to 14 days in advance of an
excavation -- Customers will receive a list of notified utilities
that may have underground lines in the area. If you believe a
utility may not have marked their lines, call 811 again to notify
USA -- On paved surfaces, mark the proposed excavation area with
white chalk-based paint. Homeowners can also use other white
substances such as sugar or flour. -- On unpaved surfaces use flags
or stakes to mark the proposed excavation area -- Carefully hand
excavate within 24 inches on either side of a utility-marked
facility -- Be careful not to erase facility marks while working.
If you cannot see the markings, call 811 and request a remarking --
811 requests are active for 28 days. Notify USA if work continues
beyond that time -- Immediately notify utilities about any type of
contact or damage to its wires or pipes -- If there is any type of
damage to PG&E electric wires or gas pipelines, or if there is
a possible gas leak, take these steps: -- Move to a safe location
-- Call 911 -- Call PG&E at 1-800-743-5000 Pacific Gas and
Electric Company, a subsidiary of , is one of the largest combined
natural gas and electric utilities in the United States. Based in
San Francisco, with 20,000 employees, the company delivers some of
the nation's cleanest energy to 15 million people in northern and
central California. For more information, visit
http://www.pge.com/about/. DATASOURCE: Pacific Gas and Electric
Company CONTACT: External Communications Department of Pacific Gas
and Electric Company, +1-415-973-5930 Web Site: http://www.pge.com/
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