PHILADELPHIA, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- There's a special new number to call in Pennsylvania that will help homeowners, contractors and utilities stay safe. PECO and PA One Call are helping roll out the new Call-Before-You-Dig number: 8-1-1.

Starting April 1, homeowners and excavators can call 8-1-1 for all underground utilities to be marked to prevent accidental damage. Accidental "dig ins" can be very dangerous, disrupt service and could result in injury or death.

PA One Call, an organization that promotes safety and works to prevent damage to all underground facilities, answers the 8-1-1 call and sends a professional to mark the underground utilities. By Pennsylvania law, homeowners and excavators must call PA One Call at 8-1-1 three days before any underground project. The service is free and required by law.

Just last year, as a result of calls for projects in the local service area, PECO responded to more than 216,000 calls made to mark underground electric lines and nearly 175,000 calls made to mark natural gas lines.

"You cannot see what is under the ground," said Gary Bartnik, PECO damage prevention manager. "It is important that you call for your own safety. Don't take a chance."

So, PECO reminds anyone who is working underground, call 8-1-1 three days before digging. Whether you are planting a tree, building a fence or laying a building foundation, contact with an underground line can be fatal. By dialing 8-1-1 three business days before a project begins, a homeowner or professional excavator will immediately connect to PA One Call, and arrangements will be made to mark the underground utilities.

For more information, http://www.peco.com/, go to PECO, Residential, Customer Service and then Information on Underground Lines, or point your browser to: http://www.pa1call.org/.

Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation . PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 480,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2006, the company delivered 38.2 million megawatt-hours (Mwh) of electricity and 76.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas to residential, business and institutional customers. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.

Contact: Ted Caddell PECO, An Exelon Company 2301 Market Street, S14-1 Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-841-5555

CONTACT: Ted Caddell of PECO, +1-215-841-5555

Web site: http://www.peco.com/
http://www.pa1call.org/