SoCalGas logged its lowest infrastructure damage rate on record in 2025, the utility said, after more than 1.1 million Californians called 811 before digging, a 6% increase from the year before and one of the highest participation levels the program has seen.
The Southern California Gas Company subsidiary of Sempra recorded about 2,400 dig-in incidents in 2025. The rise in 811 calls has coincided with a 32% drop in dig-in incidents since 2019, SoCalGas said.
Even so, nearly 60% of 2025's dig-ins happened because nobody called 811 before excavation began, and about 70% occurred on private property, often during projects such as planting trees, installing fences, landscaping or building decks.
"The record calls we're seeing to the 811 program is making a real difference," said Cedric Williams, SoCalGas's chief safety officer.
811 is the national call-before-you-dig line. A request must go in at least two business days before digging, not counting the day of the call, and utility operators then mark the approximate location of underground lines before work starts.
SoCalGas highlighted the numbers around National 811 Day, observed each year on Aug. 11. The company is the largest gas distribution utility in the country, serving more than 21 million customers across about 24,000 square miles of Central and Southern California.
