Dig into the details this Sunday, Aug. 11, on National 811 Day.
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) —Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are drawing attention to National 811 Day, which is celebrated annually on Aug. 11, to remind customers, excavators and the general public why it’s important to have underground utility lines marked before digging for any project — large or small.
Hitting an underground utility line puts at risk the safety of the person or people doing the excavation work and the general public. It can also result in costly damage repairs, disruptions to important utility services and hefty fines for violating Kentucky’s “Call Before You Dig” law, which requires having lines in the area marked before digging.
You can help prevent an emergency by knowing in advance the important steps to follow. A free statewide computer-operated communication system, called 811, can help.
- Contact Kentucky 811 – Contact Kentucky 811 at least two business days before beginning your project by phone (dial 8-1-1) or online at Kentucky811.org. Both options are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Submit your locate request – After you submit your request, the 811 service issues a "locate request" to member utilities, including those who provide natural gas, electric, telephone, cable, sewer and/or water service. In 2023 alone, LG&E and KU responded to more than 240,000 line locate requests.
- Mark the project area – Although it’s not required, marking the boundary lines of your project area with white lines helps utilities know exactly where you plan to work while they’re marking underground utility lines.
- Wait for a positive response – Watch for either color flags or markings around your excavation area or follow-up communications via phone, email, mail, fax, or an 811 online portal notification. This also includes a notification if there are no underground lines in the area.
- Dig with Care – Leave at least 24 inches on all sides of the underground utility line and equipment markings.
LG&E is a Kentucky 811-member utility across its entire service territory; KU is a member utility in most of the Kentucky counties it serves. KU customers can visit KU's Safe Digging web page or call 800-981-0600 to determine if they are required to contact KU directly to have underground electric lines marked or if they can submit their request to 811 to have all underground lines, including electric, marked.
Visit lge-ku.com/safety for more important safety tips, resources and information including a special section for excavators.
###
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve more than 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 335,000 natural gas and 436,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 545,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and 28,000 in five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.
Download image (JPG, 4.6 MB)
Download image (JPG, 4.9 MB)
