Call Before You Dig

What is Miss Utility?

SMECO has many underground electric lines. Anyone performing construction should contact Miss Utility at 811 to have underground lines located. You make one call, Miss Utility contacts companies to mark electric, cable TV, phone, gas, water, and sewer lines. Miss Utility is a service that provides member utilities with information about excavation, boring, pile driving, blasting, digging, etc., that may take place in their service area. When notified, SMECO will send a locator to your job site to mark underground electric lines.

Maryland state law requires that you contact Miss Utility at least 48 business hours before excavation is to begin. Besides the potential for loss of life, you can be held responsible for costs associated with the repair of a damaged underground utility line that has not been located through Miss Utility.

Using Miss Utility

Miss Utility can be contacted by dialing 811 – the national Call Before You Dig number. You can also call Miss Utility at (800) 257-7777 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. You may also visit their Call 811 website. A minimum of 48 hours advanced notice, excluding weekends and holidays, is required. When you contact Miss Utility, please have the following information available:

• Caller I.D. – (if no I.D., then items 2-6 are required)
• Daytime telephone number
• First and last name of person calling
• Company (if applicable)
• Company address (if applicable)
• Alternate contact name
• Alternate contact telephone number
• Work to begin date (only if other than 48 hours notice)
• Will explosives be used?
• Type of work being done
• Who the work is being done for
• State
• County
• City/Place
• Address
• Nearest intersecting street
• Work Location: Detailed information for descriptive locating
  • Distance
  • Direction
  • Which side of street
  • Subdivision or area
    Example: Locate East from Maple Ave. on Main St. for approximately 200 yds. to Pole -000.
• Remarks (special instructions)
• Page and grid (from Alexandria Drafting Company (ADC) map book)