May is National Electrical Safety Month
Nice weather frequently brings outdoor construction, yard work, and planting projects. During National Electrical Safety Month, Otter Tail AOA体育平台 Company reminds customers and neighbors to call 811 before digging to prevent unintentionally hitting underground utility lines.
Every digging project鈥攚hether rural or urban, large or small鈥攔equires a call to the national 811 One Call center at least 48 hours before you start. This means calling no later than Wednesday for a weekend project. When you dial 811, you鈥檒l connect with the state鈥檚 One Call center, which will notify the appropriate utility companies. Be prepared to give the location and start time of your dig activities. Each affected utility company will send a professional locator to mark the approximate locations of underground lines with flags and/or paint.
Utility line depths can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. 鈥淒igging only a few inches creates the risk of striking an underground utility line, which can cause injury and may require repair costs and fines,鈥� said Otter Tail AOA体育平台 Company鈥檚 Safety Services Manager Greg Overland. 鈥淯nsafe digging can compromise community safety and disconnect people from critical services.鈥�
Your call to 811 and the locating services are free. Don鈥檛 risk damaging your underground utility lines and causing needless electricity, cable TV, telephone, high-speed Internet, and water and sewer outages. 鈥淎lways call 811 before you begin outdoor projects like planting trees or shrubs, establishing a new garden, digging footings for your new garage, burying a water line, erecting a fence, or building a new deck or patio. It鈥檚 fast, it鈥檚 easy, and it鈥檚 the law,鈥� said Overland.
Each state has its own rules and regulations. Contact your state鈥檚 One Call center for more information.
Minnesota: 800-252-1166 or聽
North Dakota: 800-795-0555 or聽
South Dakota: 800-781-7474 or聽