With the change of the seasons comes beautiful gardens, landscaping and utility projects. All which require digging. Doing so safely means making a call to 811 prior to starting your home project. At BGE, utility locators work diligently to find and verify electricity and gas infrastructure before any digging begins. The process starts first with a call to Miss Utility. Once a ticket has been submitted, Miss Utility has 48 hours to respond, sending the request to BGE’s locate vendor, Utili Quest, who goes out to the scene to mark the underground lines.
For digging projects that impact transmission lines or high-pressure gas mains, BGE remains on site with Utili Quest to ensure the work is done safely.
While we stress the importance of safe digging, utility strikes still occur. In 2024, BGE experienced 521 damage events. 322 were caused by unsafe digging and 77 were due to failure to contact Miss Utility. Calling 811 isn’t just a recommendation, it’s a critical first step in protecting our infrastructure and keeping our communities safe.
Whether you’re a contractor or a homeowner, calling 811 before you dig helps prevent outages, injuries and costly repairs. It’s a simple step that makes a big impact and keeps you and those around you safe.
