Jackson Electric Cooperative is a member of Diggers Hotline, a one-call locating service for identifying the location of buried utility facilities.
Please allow Diggers Hotline three (3) working days, as required by Wisconsin law, to locate and flag underground cable. Digging and excavation work should not begin until after the underground cable has been located.
Diggers Hotline only locates the underground cable of its member utilities. The homeowner is responsible for locating underground facilities such as septic, water, and private secondary wiring to outbuildings.
What Lies Beneath
There are 20 million miles of electrical lines buried underground, and one is damaged every six minutes. Projects such as planting a tree, installing a new fence, or digging a trench, using hand tools or power equipment, can lead to contact with underground lines if the digger doesn't know where they are. To avoid hitting an electrical line, contractors and homeowners should call 811 at least three days BEFORE digging, to have electrical line areas marked so they can be avoided.
A collaborative effort with Wisconsin's electric cooperatives, in partnership with Federated Rural Electric Insurance Exchange, created an educational video for homeowners and contractors.
Before You Dig,
Contact Diggers Hotline
800.242.8511 (in Wisconsin)
800.922.6576 (out of state)
Calling 811 is not only a best practice, it's the law. Wisconsin Statute 182.0175 requires you to notify Diggers Hotline before you excavate, grade, trench, dig, drill, augur, tunnel, scrape, plow cable or pipe. Failure to call, even if you don't hit a line, can lead to mandated education, legal action, or a fine.