Georgia Power and Georgia 811 have teamed up once again to raise awareness for National 811 Day on August 11 (“8-11”). Employees at Georgia Power’s Customer Care Center received a surprise visit today from Digger Dog, Georgia 811’s mascot, to help them become more familiar with digging notification requirements. In addition, technicians from the company’s underground location team demonstrated the tools and techniques used as they actually located and marked live underground lines onsite at Georgia Power’s Customer Care Center.

“The safety of our employees and our communities is our top priority and having Georgia 811 and Digger Dog visit was a great reminder for our team of one way we can help our customers stay safe and prevent costly power outages from digging accidents,” said Kevin Kastner, vice president of Customer Services. “This translates into our teammates being able to help customers understand the importance of contacting 811 to have underground power lines and other buried utilities marked before starting digging projects.”

Georgia Power works every day with Georgia 811, a nonprofit corporation dedicated to preventing damage to underground utilities and promoting public safety, to ensure that projects are safe and comply with the “Georgia Dig Law.” The law requires contact with Georgia 811 before mechanized digging to have buried power, communications, gas and water lines clearly marked, typically with flags, spray paint or both, to help prevent injuries, unintended service disruptions, repair costs and fines. In the first six months of 2019, Georgia Power has responded to approximately 440,000 requests for locating and marking of its underground power lines.

Georgia Power reminds customers of the importance of calling 811 or visiting Georgia811.com, to enter a location request at least two days before they dig. There is no charge for 811 location requests and contacting 811 is also recommended for smaller, manual jobs, such as planting trees, installing fences or mailboxes or other digging activity. Once the request is received, Georgia 811 notifies affected member utility companies, who send a professional technician to identify and mark underground lines.