DIY enthusiasts and builders are being urged to take extra care when digging to avoid hitting underground electricity cables after recent incidents that led to power cuts.

Emergency repairs had to be carried out by our engineers on two separate occasions recently in Devon as a result of excavation work by third parties accidentally damaging cables.

Digging into a live high voltage cable can cause explosions and fires that may lead to fatalities or severe injury, including burns to face, hands and body.

Most cables are laid in trenches between 450mm and one metre deep and often there are no permanent markers to show their presence.

We are advising workers:

• find out if electrical equipment is near the digging area by checking cable location plans
• ensure someone competent at using a Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT) locates all cables shown on the plans
• mark cable locations on the ground surface with waterproof road paint or marker
• dig trial holes by hand to locate exact positions of cables using an insulated spade or shovel – never a pick, fork or power tool
• remember cable record plans are not guaranteed to be completely accurate. Kerb lines, roads and buildings may have been moved or altered since the cables were laid
• if a cable is hit, clear the area of personnel and call 105 to report it

Chris Cleveland, NGED’s Head of Safety, said: “There’s a high risk of serious injury if an underground cable is damaged and that’s why we want anyone carrying out excavation, drilling, piling, demolition and site investigations to check in advance if live cables are anywhere near their work area.

“As well as possible injury and delaying people’s projects, damaging cables can also cause significant disruption to other customers and lead to considerable repair costs for those responsible.”

Details of how to obtain NGED cable location plans can be found here.