I was recently digging a post hole and scraped my undergound electric cable. The post hole digger damaged the insulation and scraped one of the wires. It sparked a lot then started smoking. I still had power to all parts of my house. The wire was not cut in half. Only the casing was damaged. In fear of being charged by the power company to repare the damage, I simply filled in the hole. Can anyone tell me if I can expect the exposed wire underground to give me any problems?
You really need to call the power company and have it looked at. You should always call to get your property located before you dig. Most companies- at least where I live do this for free. Just feel lucky it wasn't a gas line!
Electric Post Hole Digger
You are supposed to call before you dig. The number to call is simply 811. I'm no scientist, but I don't think that water and exposed wiring are exactly friends. When it rains the water goes into the ground and can hit the exposed wiring. You may get a fine now, but think of how big the fine could be, maybe even criminal charges, if you don't report your mistake. They can repair it now before it causes too much trouble.
The white wire is the common or neutral wire anyway and should not be carrying any voltage. Being that it is only a foot deep it was obviously added after the house was built because even direct burial U/F cable should be 2' deep per the electrical code. It possibly is an irrigation control line or landscape ltg. power line which in that case it would be low voltage. I would tape it up and forget it as well.
Gopher State One Call has the following information: ====quote==== Damage to Facilities Subdivision 1. Notice; repair. (a) If any damage occurs to an underground facility or its protective covering, the excavator shall notify the operator promptly. (b) An excavator shall delay back filling in the immediate area of the damaged underground facilities until the damage has been investigated by the operator, unless the operator authorizes otherwise. The repair of damage must be performed by the operator or by qualified personnel authorized by the operator. (c) An excavator who knowingly damages an underground facility, and who does not notify the operator as soon as reasonably possible or who back-fills in violation of paragraph (b), is guilty of a misdemeanor. Subdivision 2.Cost reimbursement. (a) If an excavator damages an underground facility, the excavator shall reimburse the operator for the cost of necessary repairs, and for a pipeline the cost of the product that was being carried in the pipeline and was lost as a direct result of the damage. ====End quote==== If you damage an underground utility, you are responsible for notifying the operating company of that utility and you are responsible for any costs associated with repair. If you cover it up, you are breaking the law and will most likely be fined. The more time that passes, the more trouble you cause for yourself. I ran across an article for Louisana that stated each day that passes where you DON'T notify the utility counts as a separate violation with a separate fine. You may think I have power, I'll just leave it alone. But eventually it WILL SHORT OUT. It's already shorting if it's sparking and smoking. How much more is it going to cost when other utility property is damaged by that short and they trace it to your post hole? Now you're responsible for all the man hours spent investigating the problem along with the damage to the cable. Don't go another day without getting this resolved.
