Year-round Safety Tips

Check out these reminders to act safely and responsibly

Planning to start some projects around your yard? Both overhead and underground utilities can create safety hazards. Xcel Energy offers these safety tips:

You must call 811 before you dig. Your call reaches your state’s one-call center, which arranges for marking Xcel Energy’s lines and those of other utilities such as natural gas, telephone, cable television, water and sewer. Before beginning any project that involves digging or trenching, by law you are required to have utility-owned lines buried in your dig area located by the respective utility companies. This includes any lines you have previously located. You also need to make arrangements to locate lines not owned by a utility, such as a line installed by a homeowner.

Wait until your state’s required time before you dig, usually two to three business days. Respect the marks – colored flags, paint or stakes – and only then dig with extreme care near the marks. Digging without locates can cause property damage, interrupt services, cause personal injury and even death if you accidentally dig into underground utility lines.

Look up when working outside! Contact with overhead power lines can result in serious injury or even death. Take note of overhead power line locations. When working with ladders, or transporting equipment, keep yourself, your tools and your equipment more than 10 feet from overhead power lines. The only safe contact is no contact.

Call Xcel Energy at 1-800-895-4999 to request your pole-to-house line be temporarily disconnected while you or a professional arborist prunes your trees. For more information, or to obtain a copy of our Plant a Better Future brochure to learn about tree planting and selection, look on this website or call 1-800-895-4999. Xcel Energy prunes trees near power lines to provide safe, reliable electric service, while also taking the best possible care of one of your community’s valuable natural resources.

With almost 89,000 miles of power lines in our service area, our goal is to clear branches and limbs away from power lines on a regular basis so they are less likely to interfere with your electric service. We perform routine maintenance as a proactive approach to preventing power outages due to trees. We also respond to emergency situations such as storm restoration.

Pole-to-house lines have the least impact on large-scale power outages, so Xcel Energy does not prune for clearance along these lines, except when hazardous conditions exist. Remember, pole-to-house lines are energized and dangerous. You may hire a qualified professional tree trimmer to perform this work in some areas.

Stay away when you see a downed or low-hanging power line! Always consider a downed line to be energized, and do not touch it, either with your hand or anything you may be holding. Do not touch anyone or anything in contact with a downed power line. If you spot a downed or low-hanging line call your local electric utility’s emergency number immediately. Xcel Energy’s electric emergency number is 1-800-895-1999.

Watch for power lines near rivers and lakes when boating or fishing. Masts on sailboats conduct electricity and so do fishing lines. Avoid casting near power lines, and never try to retrieve lures tangled in power lines.

Teach your children to fly kites, model airplanes, balloons or other toys in open areas, far from overhead power lines and never during storms. If a toy becomes tangled in a power line, abandon it. Do not use wire as kite string or to control a model plane, and never fly such toys with wet string. 

Children should never climb power poles or trees close to power lines or play on or near other electrical equipment such as fenced electrical yards or metal boxes.

Do not touch or go near electrical equipment. Stay away from anything marked "Danger," "High Voltage" or "Keep Out."