UNDERGROUND CABLES

Accidents can occur when home owners do not know where electricity cables have been buried – either on your own property or in the services corridor which sits between your property boundary and the road. Electricity cables may be underground, as may water, gas and sewer lines. If you are not sure exactly where your supply cables are, check with your local council or service provider before you start any excavation work, particularly in the berm outside your property.

Unison offers a FREE advisory service if you want to know the location of underground cables supplying electricity to the boundary of your property. And remember: if you accidentally uncover any cable, contact Unison (even if the cable is not damaged) and we’ll take a closer look for you.  A charge applies for locating privately owned underground cables.

If you need to locate electricity cables –

CALL UNISON FIRST  |  0800 2 UNISON  |  0800 286 476

Or download our cable locations form below

Unison CL1 Customer Request Form for Supply of Cable Location Services and Plans  |  PDF

Be aware of what’s under the ground, particularly when digging deep holes for fence posts or if you are inserting any spikes or poles into the ground.

And if you are doing any gardening, planting or maintenance on the grass verge between your property boundary and the road, check whether the electricity supply has been buried underground.

For more information on safety with underground cables read the Department of Labour Underground Services Guide.

A guide to Unison's Cable Locations service

1. Unison offers a FREE Cable Location Service for cables belonging to Unison.
2. Electrical cables running underground in the service corridor beside residential roads are owned by Unison. They are likely to be below the grass verge between your property boundary and the road. In rare situations, there may be some cables within  your property that are owned by Unison . They will have been buried at a safe depth originally but with time and road surface alterations they may be nearer the surface than you might expect.
3. DO NOT plant trees or garden or place signs or stakes in the verge outside your property if electricity cables
   are buried underground – unless you have checked with Unison for the exact location of the cables.
4. Unison does not generally locate private service cables. These are the cables inside your boundary and carrying electricity supply to your home. You should seek a specialist electrical service to undertake this
   work on your behalf.
5. However if you – the property owner - dig up or uncover an underground electrical cable on your property
   contact Unison immediately on our 0800 number. CALL 0800 286 476.

Remember that damaging underground electrical cables could result in serious injury or even death.
 
A minimum of 2 working days notice is required for all Cable Location requests except in emergencies
 
Contact Unison - Customer Services Team
(06) 873 9313
Fax (06) 873 9394

What is Electricity?  |  Children, Safety & Electricity  |  Electrical Safety Checklist  |  Electrical Emergencies  |  Electric Blankets  |  Be Aware, Electricity Kills   |  No Power or  Hot Water?  |  Looking Up Looking Down, Looking After You  |  Underground Cables  |  Trees and Your Power Supply  |  Safety Disconnections and Reconnections  |  Staying Safe Near Unison Equipment  |  Information for Schools  |  How Many Reminders do you Need?