Puget Sound Energy urges everyone to contact 811 to “Call Before You Dig” to schedule a free utility locator and marking service
May is Washington state Utility Damage Prevention Month
PSE reports 20 percent decrease in 2008 damage to underground utility lines
Bellevue, Wash. (May 22, 2009) – With Memorial Day weekend marking the start of many outdoor home improvement projects, Puget Sound Energy urges everyone to contact the 811 “Call Before You Dig” hotline to schedule a free utility locator service before beginning any work that involves digging 12 inches or more such as building a new fence or deck, planting trees and shrubs, or even pulling out a tree stump.
In Gov. Gregoire’s proclamation declaring May as Washington Utility Damage Prevention Month, residents and excavators are encouraged to call the 811 service two business days before they dig to help avoid potential hazards with striking or damaging underground utility lines.
“Greater public awareness about the need to ‘call before you dig’ has effectively reduced the number of incidents damaging our underground lines and avoided the possibility of serious injury and costly repairs,” said Sue McLain, PSE senior vice president of operations. “We encourage residents and excavators to call 811 prior to starting any digging project. Any scratch, dent or gouge to a natural gas pipe or nick to an underground electric line could become a safety hazard and eventually ends up costing time and money to repair.”
PSE’s statistics reveal that more than one-quarter of the damage to its underground natural gas lines and electric cable in the utility’s 11-county area in 2008 was caused by residents, contractors and other excavators who failed to ensure that underground utility lines were properly marked. Last year, PSE experienced 1,438 incidents related to accidental dig-ups of PSE’s 25,000 miles of underground natural gas lines and 534 incidents to the utility’s 9,500 miles of buried power lines, down 20 percent from a total of 2,481 combined incidents in 2007.
Washington state law requires all residential projects that involve digging 12 inches or more to have utilities marked before the start of digging to prevent serious injuries or costly property damage. (Any digging on commercial property, in private property utility easements or in the right-of-way, regardless of depth, requires a call.)
PSE advises anyone who may have damaged natural gas pipes or electric systems, or who smells the odor of natural gas, to take these steps:
- Quickly move a safe distance from the damaged line
- Call 911 after reaching a safe distance
- Report the damage to PSE at 1-888-225-5773
For more information about “Call Before You Dig,” visit callbeforeyoudig.org.
Media contact
Dorothy Bracken, 1-888-831-7250
About Puget Sound Energy
Washington state’s oldest and largest energy utility, with a 6,000-square-mile service area stretching across 11 counties, Puget Sound Energy serves more than 1 million electric customers and nearly 750,000 natural gas customers. PSE, a subsidiary of Puget Energy, meets the energy needs of its growing customer base primarily in Western Washington through incremental, cost-effective energy conservation, procurement of sustainable energy resources, and far-sighted investment in the energy-delivery infrastructure. PSE employees are dedicated to providing great customer service to deliver energy that is safe, reliable, reasonably priced, and environmentally responsible.