National Grid Reminds New Englanders to Think of 8-1-1 on 8/11

WALTHAM, MA (08/11/2011)(readMedia)-- Did you know you can use today's date, August 11 or 8/11, as a reminder that could potentially save your life, help prevent serious injury or prevent disruption to utility service in your neighborhood? By calling the phone number 8-1-1 anyone planning to excavate will be linked immediately to Dig Safe, which in turn will notify participating utilities to mark their underground facilities prior to digging. Utility companies have three business days to mark their lines, so callers need to allow for sufficient lead time before beginning excavation.

Third party dig-ups that damage underground utilities are a significant and avoidable cause of injuries as well as gas and electric outages. According to the Common Ground Alliance, an association of utility and construction companies, and corporations in a wide range of industries, more than 170,000 utility lines annually are damaged by digging. In the pipeline industry alone, statistics for the past 20 years show more than $1.7 billion worth of property damage, 1,906 injuries and 421 deaths have been attributed to unsafe excavation work according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).

"The safe and reliable delivery of electricity and natural gas is our primary mission," said Timothy F. Horan, National Grid president for New Hampshire. "The public can help in that mission by calling 8-1-1 and working safely to protect themselves and the public from a potential tragedy."

National Grid is an international energy delivery company. In the U.S., National Grid delivers electricity to approximately 3.3 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island, and manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). It is the largest distributor of natural gas in the northeastern U.S., serving approximately 3.4 million customers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. National Grid also owns over 4,000 megawatts of contracted electricity generation that provides power to over one million LIPA customers.