Charleston, W. Va., August 10, 2012– With August 11 almost here Appalachian Power hopes this date on the calendar, 8/11, will serve as a reminder for residents to call 811 prior to any digging project to have underground utility lines marked.
By calling 811 homeowners and contractors are connected to a nearby one-call center, which then notifies the appropriate utility companies of the callers’ intent to dig. Professional locators are sent to the requested digging site to mark the approximate locations of underground cables and pipe with flags, spray paint or both. Each utility type is marked with a specific color: red for electric, yellow for natural gas, orange for telecommunications, blue for water, and green for sewage.
"On August 11 and throughout the year, we remind homeowners and professional contractors to call 811 before digging to eliminate the risk of striking an underground utility line,” said Larry Massile, distribution system inspector. “It really is the only way to know which utilities are buried in your area.”
Striking a single underground power line can cause severe injury, unnecessary repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages for others. Every digging project, no matter how large or small, warrants a call to 811. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
Appalachian Power offers a free informational video on the 811 process. To view or order a copy of the video, follow this link: https://www.appalachianpower.com/safety/CallBeforeYouDig.aspx
For more information about 811 and safe digging practices you can also visit www.call811.com
Appalachian Power has 1 million customers in Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee (as AEP Appalachian Power). It is a unit of American Electric Power, one of the largest electric utilities in the United States, which delivers electricity to more than 5 million customers in 11 states. AEP ranks among the nation’s largest generators of electricity, owning nearly 38,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the U.S. AEP also owns the nation’s largest electricity transmission system, a nearly 39,000-mile network that includes more 765 kilovolt extra-high voltage transmission lines than all other U.S. transmission systems combined.
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