Vectren Reminds Customers to Call Before You Dig
by Natalie Hedde
Evansville, Ind. – In an effort to remind residents to dial 8-1-1 before digging, Aug. 11 has been designated National Call Before You Dig awareness day. Not only does it ensure the safety of all involved, but it is the law to inform local utility companies regarding the intent to dig at least two full days prior by calling the national 811 free service. After telling the 811 operator where the digging will take place and the type of work involved, the approximate location of buried lines, pipes and cables will be marked.
Throughout 2015, Vectren Energy Delivery (Vectren) responded to roughly 1,000 damages to underground lines and pipes. Striking a single line can cause injury, repair costs, fines and inconvenient outages. Installing a mailbox, building a deck, planting a tree and laying a patio are all examples of digging projects that need a call to 811 before starting.
The depth of utility lines can vary for a number of reasons, such as erosion, previous digging projects, and uneven surfaces. Utility lines need to be properly marked because even when digging only a few inches, the risk of striking an underground utility line still exists.
“Calling 811 is easy, free and can ultimately save a life,†said Mike Roeder, Vectren’s vice president of government affairs and president of Vectren-North. “Failure to call before digging results in more than 60,000 unintentional hits annually across the U.S. We hope by educating our customers, together we can keep one another safe while driving that statistic down.â€
For more details, visit www.vectren.com or www.Indiana811.org.
About Vectren
Vectren Corporation (NYSE: VVC) is an energy holding company headquartered in Evansville, Ind. Vectren’s energy delivery subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to more than 1 million customers in adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and about 20 percent of Ohio, primarily in the west-central area. Vectren’s nonutility subsidiaries and affiliates currently offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the U.S. These include infrastructure services and energy services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com.
