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| Always notify 811 before you dig—it's the law! |
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| Do you have a project that involves digging? If so, don’t forget to include notifying 811—your local one-call utility locator service—in your excavation plans. Damage from digging activities can cause power outages and pipeline accidents, and we need your help to prevent them! |
Order our FREE worker safety kit on the Xcel Energy
e-SMARTworkers website. |
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| Always contact your state 811 center before digging and for the most current requirements. |
| Dial 811 or enter an online request at least: |
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Three business days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) before digging in Michigan and Wisconsin |
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Two business days (excluding weekends and legal holidays) before digging in Minnesota, New Mexico, South Dakota and Texas |
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Two business days (excluding the date of your request, weekends and legal holidays) before digging in Colorado and North Dakota |
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| Remember, it’s the law! |
| The 811 service will notify any utilities that have underground facilities in your dig area, so they can mark out the utility locations. Once you know where utility lines are located, you can dig a safe distance away from them. (You must hire a private locating contractor to locate non-utility-owned lines, such as gas lines to grills or power lines to swimming pools.) |
| Know the dangers |
| If you don’t notify 811 before digging, you risk contacting a buried utility line. Hitting a buried electric line can cause outages and serious shock injuries or fatalities. And hitting a gas line can lead to a fire or explosion. You can avoid property damage, personal injury, and possible fines and repair costs by notifying the 811 service before you start to dig. Even small digging jobs require this. |
| Play it safe |
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Pre-mark your proposed excavation area with white paint, flags and/or stakes. |
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Call 811 or use the online locate request system for your state (please refer to provided links below in this email). |
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Wait the required time for utilities to be marked before you dig. |
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Follow state laws for digging within the “tolerance zone,” a safety area that spans the width of a marked utility plus a specified distance from each indicated outside edge: |
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18 inches in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wisconsin |
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24 inches in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wyoming |
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Texas law does not specify this distance; however, 18 inches is a recommended best practice. For your safety, use ONLY hand tools or vacuum technology within this zone |
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Respect the marks, hand expose to verify the location of marked utility lines and dig with care! |
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| Would you like to know more? |
| Additional overhead and digging guidelines, emergency procedures, case studies, instructional videos and training tools can all be found, at no charge to you, on Xcel Energy’s e-SMARTworkers website. |
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| To reach your state’s underground utility locate service/one-call center, call 811 or visit their online site by clicking on your state’s name below. |
| The required “business day” wait time for each state is as follows (excludes weekends and legal holidays): |
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| In case of emergency, call 911 and then Xcel Energy: |
| Electrical Emergencies: 800-895-1999 |
| Natural Gas Emergencies: 800-895-2999 |
| CO and TX only: Gas Transmission Pipeline |
| Emergencies: 800-698-7811 |
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