Gastonia, N.C. – It’s National Safe Digging Month, an opportunity for utilities nationwide to remind their customers and communities to put safety first by always contacting 811 to have underground utility lines located and marked before any project that involves digging.

Every 9 minutes an underground utility line is damaged because someone decided to dig without first calling 811. Every dig counts.  Even striking a single line while you dig can cause inconvenient outages, traffic disruptions, fines or injuries.

“Whether you are putting in a new deck, fence or planting a tree, you need to contact 811 first,” said Scott Swindler, director of Gas Operations for Dominion Energy’s natural gas business in North Carolina. “Contacting 811 is critical to public safety and service reliability, not to mention it’s state law.”

Safety is in your hands. Dominion Energy addresses several common misconceptions with the facts about 811, the process and why it’s important to know what’s below before putting a shovel in the ground:

Myth 1 “I’m busy and on a budget.”

Fact: The call to 811 and the professional locate services are completely paid for by utilities for public safety. You are only required to call three full business days before your planned excavation project.

Myth 2 “Contacting 811 sounds complicated.”

Fact: It’s an easy process. Simply request the service by either calling 811, using NC811.com or the NC811 app. When you contact 811, you will be asked to provide information about the location and nature of your digging project and utilities like Dominion Energy will take it from there.

Myth 3 “I know where my utilities are located.”

Fact: Erosion and root system growth can change the depth and location of buried lines, or your utility companies may have completed work on their facilities causing the location of the lines to change.

Myth 4 “My contractors know what they’re doing.”

Fact: Your contractor does not know where underground utility lines are located. Check with your contractor to make sure that they have contacted 811 and utilities have been marked before digging-related work begins.

Myth 5 “I see a pipeline marker, so I know where the line is located.”

Fact: Dominion Energy pipeline markers indicate that there is a pipeline in the area but are not meant to provide their location. Calling 811 is still required so you know where to avoid digging.

Once all utility lines have been marked, careful digging around the marks can begin. To learn more about natural gas safety and the 811 process, click here.

About Dominion Energy

About 7 million customers in 16 states energize their homes and businesses with electricity or natural gas from Dominion Energy (NYSE: D), headquartered in Richmond, Va. The company is committed to safely providing reliable, affordable and sustainable energy and to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Please visit DominionEnergy.com to learn more.

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