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| Overhead and underground safety practices |
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| Review these tips with coworkers at your tailgate or toolbox meetings before work begins to help avoid potential hazards when working near overhead and underground utility lines. |
Order our FREE worker safety kit on the Xcel Energy
e‑SMARTworkers website. |
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| Look out for overhead power lines |
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Survey your job site every day to find overhead power lines, poles and guy wires, and point them out to coworkers. Be alert for lines that may be masked by foliage or otherwise blocked from view. |
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Consider all overhead power lines to be energized and potentially dangerous, including the service lines that run from utility poles to buildings. |
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Mark a safety boundary to keep yourself, coworkers and all tools, equipment and vehicles at least 20 feet away from overhead distribution lines and 35 feet away from overhead transmission lines. Higher voltages require greater distances. Call Xcel Energy to confirm power line types and clearances. |
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If you must work closer than regulations allow, contact Xcel Energy at 800‑895‑1999 well in advance so that safety arrangements can be made. |
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Designate a spotter whose only job is to make sure you maintain the mandatory safety clearances between your equipment and overhead power lines. |
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| Dig safely |
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Notify 811 before you dig or move earth in any way—even for small or shallow jobs. This service will arrange to have underground utility lines marked so that you can dig a safe distance away from them. |
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Dial 811 or use your state online ticket‑entry system. Then wait the required time for facility owners to mark their lines. Wait: |
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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, Texas and Wyoming |
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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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Pre-mark the boundaries of your proposed dig area with white paint, flags and/or stakes before you notify 811. Some 811 centers allow you to pre‑mark through electronic white‑lining when making your online locate request. |
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Hand dig or use other soft excavation methods within the tolerance zone to carefully expose marked utilities and verify their precise location and depth. The tolerance zone (or caution zone) is 18 inches from either indicated outside edge of a marked utility line in Colorado, New Mexico, South Dakota and Wisconsin. It is 24 inches in Minnesota, North Dakota and Wyoming; and 48 inches in Michigan. (Texas law does not specify this distance; however, 18 inches is a recommended best practice.) |
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Call Xcel Energy immediately to report any contact with an underground natural gas or electric line. If gas is escaping, the law requires you to call 911. |
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| Always contact your state 811 center before digging and for the most current requirements. |
| 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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