A Day in the Life of a DEC Cable Locator

The work of DEC’s cable locating team is extremely important — not only in terms of reliability, but also when it comes to keeping Co-op employees, contractors and members safe when doing any digging. The job of a cable locator — such as DEC’s own Jackson Rall — is to identify underground electrical lines to prevent people from digging into and damaging them — which can lead to extended power outages — or worse: making what could be potentially life-threatening contact with electricity. The Co-op encourages members to follow the law and submit a ticket with Delmarva 811 prior to beginning any digging projects on their property. Once they do, 811 will assign their ticket to a locator. That’s when Rall’s work begins.

“811 sends over the ticket that includes the dig location and scope of work. Then I review maps and utility prints to understand where lines should be, before going to the site and visually inspecting the area for any nearby transformers, pedestals, meters, or other electrical equipment,” Rall says. “I then use a transmitter and a receiver to trace the underground electric lines. Once I have located them, I mark them clearly within the scope of work using red paint, which is the universal color code for underground electric lines. Once that is done, I confirm the accuracy of my locate, document the job, and close out the ticket within the required timeframe.”

Frequently, locators’ efforts to identify the path of underground power lines are made challenging by other utility lines, such as communication lines, being buried above or near them. The receiver can pick up on those signal as well, which Rall says can distort his readings. While accuracy is the highest priority of the job, locators must also work efficiently to ensure their often-high volumes of tickets are being processed in a timely manner, ensuring contractors can begin their work. While Rall says balancing the dynamic of these two demands can be stressful, knowing that what he and the rest of DEC’s locators do on a daily basis protects both the Co-op's system and the people it serves makes it all worth it.

“The work of cable locators is important because it is essential for public safety and system reliability,” Rall says. “Striking an underground electric line can cause serious injury, outages or costly damage. By accurately locating and marking utilities, we help prevent those incidents.”