Utilities Raise Awareness For 811 Day Residents reminded to call before you dig

Category: Nevada
July 31, 2024

Ahead of national 811 Day, NV Energy, Southwest Gas, USA North 811 and Nevada Regional Common Ground Alliance are reminding Nevadans to use the phone number 8-1-1 and call before you dig.
 
The Las Vegas Aviators and Reno Aces will join forces with the companies to provide a special reminder during baseball games on Friday, August 2 and Sunday, August 11, respectively.
 
Every few minutes an underground utility is damaged somewhere in the United States because someone didn’t call 811 before digging. “811” is a free service for digging jobs of all sizes. Whether planting a tree, installing irrigation, or starting a home improvement project, call 811 or visit https://call811.com two full working days before beginning any digging to allow utility companies to mark the approximate location of their underground utility-owned lines so you can avoid damaging them.
 
Hitting an underground utility line while digging can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood and incur fines and repair costs.
 
Every day, local utilities see the impacts of not calling before the start of digging projects.
In 2023, NV Energy had 217,732 tickets called into the 811-call center in Nevada. This resulted in marking about 7,975 miles of gas and electric underground utilities on the surface. Even so, NV Energy saw 104 electric incidents and 43 gas incidents. To prevent damage to our equipment or injury to workers, it is important to call in a dig ticket.
 
In 2023, in Nevada more than a quarter of all damages involving Southwest Gas’ underground natural gas infrastructure in Southern Nevada resulted from not calling 811 before digging. 65 percent of these incidents were caused by homeowners working on their property.
 
It doesn’t cost anything to call in a dig ticket and it ensures safety during a dig. Why do we do this? Because digging into a power line or a gas line can have deadly consequences.
 
Employees and volunteers will be on hand at the baseball game giving out swag and talking to attendees about the importance of calling before you dig.
 
Tickets are available for the Las Vegas Aviators August 2 game against the Albuquerque Isotopes here. The game begins at 7:05 p.m. The promotions at the Las Vegas game are sponsored by USA North 811 and the Nevada Regional Common Ground Alliance. NV Energy and Southwest Gas will have representatives on hand to support the education efforts.
 
Tickets are available for the Reno Aces August 11 game against the Tacoma Rainiers. The game begins at 1:05 p.m. The promotions at the Reno Aces game are sponsored by NV Energy and USA North 811. 
 
Nevadans can learn more about 811 on NV Energy’s website here. To learn more about safe digging on Southwest Gas’ website, click here.
 
 
About NV Energy
NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services to more than 1.5 million customers throughout Nevada and a typical annual tourist population of 54 million. NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, do business as NV Energy. NV Energy is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Information about NV Energy is available on the company's website, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages, which can be accessed via nvenergy.com.
 
About Southwest Gas
Southwest Gas Corporation is a dynamic energy company committed to exceeding the expectations of our over two million customers throughout Arizona, California, and Nevada by providing safe and reliable service while innovating sustainable energy solutions to fuel our communities’ growth. For more information about how Southwest Gas is supporting a sustainable energy future, please visit www.swgas.com.
 

Media Contacts:
Meghin Delaney, Media Relations Manager
702-402-5241
 
Amy Washburn, Corporate Communications
Amy.Washburn@swgas.com
602-763-3289