Underground cables form an essential part of transporting electricity to homes, offices, factories and industry across the country and operate at voltages ranging from 230 Volts right up to 400,000 Volts. 

Once buried, cables are difficult to spot but careful assessment of the area and planning the task will help you to avoid a dangerous and, potentially, costly damage. Cables can be found at a variety of depths and may be contained within roads, footpaths, green space and across open land. If you’re in any doubt, assume that a cable might be present and treat any cables you find as “live”. 

Cables often have some form of polythene marker tape or concrete or earthenware tiles above them to alert you to their presence. Unfortunately, these may become displaced or removed by other activities and may not always be present. Don’t rely on the lack of any marker as an indication that a cable isn’t there or as positive proof that its immediately below! 

There are some simple steps you can take to help keep you and your workers safe: 

• Plan your work carefully. Work out how you are going to locate utility equipment and avoid the risk of damaging it. 

• Complete a risk assessment before starting work. Identify the dangers and hazards associated with excavations. 

• Request location details and plans from SSEN well in advance of work starting. Remember that other works may have changed the exact position of utilities or ground levels and that the plans are a guide only. You’re responsible for confirming the exact location of all equipment and avoiding damage. 

• Refer to the LinesearchbeforeUdig website for instant access to plans of electricity equipment, as well as underground equipment for other utility companies 

• Once you have copies of utility plans, you should scan for the utilities around where you are working so you are aware of their location before digging or excavating.  

• Use a Cable Avoidance Tools (CAT and Genny) to identify the presence of buried cables before you start to dig. If you need help from SSEN, we can arrange to check the work area with you. Once work is underway you should Rescan the area as your work progresses. 

• Check around the area for signs of buried apparatus such as meter and fuse boxes, electricity pillar boxes, consumer units, utility indicator markers and manhole covers. 

• Consider hand-digging trial holes to expose the services before using any electric or mechanical excavation tool. Always adopt safe digging techniques to establish the line and depth of underground utility equipment. 

• Take care when lowering the ground levels as there may be underground services in the area. 

• If you damage an underground cable, vacate the excavation immediately, phone SSEN’s emergency number, or 105, and keep everybody clear. 
  
  

• Follow best practice advice of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Guidance HSG47 ‘Avoiding danger from underground services’. Further information is also available via the Utility Strike Avoidance web site. 

• Always assume underground cables are live. If they appear to be damaged do not approach them and contact your local electricity network operator using 105 for Great Britain or 03457 643 643 in Northern Ireland. 

• In an emergency dial 999 and tell them electricity is involved. Call 105 for Great Britain. 

• Always hand-dig near to services using spades and shovels rather than picks, pins and forks. 

• Electricity cables embedded in concrete must either be made safe before the concrete is broken out or another safe way of working agreed with the cable owner. If you identify this situation, please contact us so that we can help you work safely and minimise the risk of injury.