Atlantic City Electric Reminds Customers: Safe Digging Starts with a Call to 811

B-roll available: Video of safe digging practices and utility line marking is available here and can be utilized for coverage needs.

Tomorrow, August 11, is National Call Before You Dig Day, and Atlantic City Electric reminds residents, businesses, and contractors that safe digging must remain a priority to prevent damage to critical underground energy infrastructure and keep communities safe.

Atlantic City Electric has nearly 3,150 miles of underground electric lines, and there are many other essential utilities including water and sewer pipes and cable lines buried in the ground. Last year, Atlantic City Electric responded to 95 incidents due to unsafe digging practices.
Before starting any digging projects, residents and businesses should follow these tips and should visit Call811.com for more information.

• Call 811 before digging, regardless of the project, to allow for approximate locations of underground lines to be marked.

• Plan ahead - leave ample time. Call three business days in advance at minimum for the utility lines to be marked.

• Confirm that all local utilities have lines marked accordingly.

• Consider moving the location of your project if it is too close to utility line markings.

• If a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has called 811. Do not let work begin if lines have not been marked.

Once the lines are marked, use this guide to understand color codes of markings:

A recent survey by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA), a national association focused on underground utility safety, highlights the importance of calling 811. According to the national survey, 10 million Americans planning digging projects in the next year will not contact 811, putting themselves and their communities at risk of utility service disruptions, costly fines and repairs, and even serious injury or death.

Atlantic City Electric joins the Exelon family of companies, 1,700 Common Ground Alliance members, the U.S. Department of Transportation and governors across the country in marking April as National Safe Digging Month to bring attention to the issue of underground utility line safety and reduce the risk of unnecessary infrastructure damage.

For more information about safe digging practices, visit atlanticcityelectric.com/Safety or call 800-642-3780.

To learn more about Atlantic City Electric, visit The Source, Atlantic City Electric's online newsroom. Find additional information by visiting atlanticcityelectric.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/AtlanticCityElectric, and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at twitter.com/AcEleCconnect. Atlantic City Electric's mobile app is available at atlanticcityelectric.com/MobileApp.