Fourth Graders Share the 811 Message Through Poster Contest

Local fourth-grade students showed their art skills and creativity during the annual Energy Safe Kids Poster Contest developed by the National Energy Foundation (NEF) and sponsored by UGI Utilities.

Through the program, NEF instructors visit schools throughout UGI’s service territory and share information about the importance of calling 811 before you dig. Energy Safe presentations also cover natural gas safety, including scratch-and-sniff stickers for children to learn what natural gas smells like, and what to do if they smell it.

After participating in the presentation, students are tasked with competing to create a poster that best communicates the importance of 811 safety. The contest culminated in two grand prize winners and spreading the 811 safety message to students’ families, friends, and community.

UGI Utilities is proud to support the Energy Safe Kids program and their efforts to engage students in the conversation around natural gas and 811 safety!

If you smell gas, act fast! Evacuate immediately and get at least the length of a football field away. Do not use phones, light switches, or any other electric devices on the way out. Once you are a safe distance away, call 911 or UGI at 800-276-2722. There is no charge for UGI to respond to and investigate a natural gas odor.

811 Safety

Whether performing a major excavation or minor landscaping, Pennsylvania law requires a call to 811 at least three business days before you dig. Failing to call can result in damaging underground utilities, which can cause injury or death, outages, fines, and property damage.

Underground power lines, communication cables, gas lines, water lines or other utilities may lie at various depths below the surface of your property or area of planned excavation. It is important to call 811 before any project to allow time for utility companies to visit the area to mark the location of their underground facilities. Learn more at https://www.ugi.com/call-811-before-you-dig/.

Some examples of projects that require a call to 811 include:

• Installing a deck or fence posts
• Installing drainage pipes or swimming pools
• Removing tree stumps
• Replacing driveways
• Planting a tree or garden
• Laying foundations