National 811 Day highlights free, required locate requests that help prevent injuries, outages and costly damage
(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — On National 811 Day, Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company are reminding homeowners, contractors and excavators to contact 811 before digging to help protect themselves, their communities and underground utility infrastructure.
Contacting 811 before excavation is required by law in Kentucky and Virginia and is a free, simple step that can help prevent injuries, service interruptions, costly repairs and damage to underground natural gas, electric, cable, water and other utility lines.
“A quick call or click before digging can prevent a dangerous situation and avoid an outage that affects neighbors, businesses and essential services,” said Tom Rieth, Vice President of Gas Operations. “National 811 Day is a timely reminder that safe digging starts well before the shovel hits the ground. Taking a few minutes to request a free locate helps protect people, property and the reliable service our customers depend on every day.”
Call or click before you dig
Customers should call 811 or submit a request through Kentucky811.org or va811.com at least two full business days before digging, not including the day of the request, weekends or legal holidays. The 811 service then notifies member utilities to mark underground lines in the project area.
Please note that beginning this year, KU customers and excavators working anywhere in KU's 77-county service area can contact Kentucky 811 to have underground electric lines marked before digging. There's no need to contact KU directly.
Wait for the all-clear
After locating is performed, customers will receive a positive response from each utility, which may include markings, flags, an email, a phone notification or online portal verification. Digging should not begin until positive responses are confirmed.
Respect the tolerance zone
Customers should also respect the tolerance zone around all markings. The tolerance zone includes the width of the underground utility plus 24 inches on each side. If digging within that zone is necessary, customers should use nonintrusive methods, such as hand-digging, to help avoid line damage.
Remember private lines
Some underground lines on private property may not be marked through 811 services, including electric or water lines to pools, sheds, landscape lighting, sprinkler systems, grills and invisible pet fences. Property owners are responsible for contacting a private locating company to mark private lines before digging.
Learn more
LG&E and KU offer safe digging resources, including the Digging into Safe Digging video series, to answer common customer questions about outdoor projects and underground utilities. Customers can learn more at lge-ku.com/811.
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Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) and its companies, are regulated utilities that serve nearly 1.4 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 336,000 natural gas and 443,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 581,000 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.
