Gas and Electric Benefits
The top excavation priority and concern for nearly all gas and electric utilities is reducing line strikes associated with small excavators and third parties. It’s a challenge.
“The safety of our employees, customers, and communities we serve is our top priority. As the largest natural gas distribution utility in the nation, we hope our participation will make a significant positive impact by encouraging contractors to adopt industry best practices for excavation safety.”
Gina Orozco-Mejia
Vice President, Gas Operations, SoCalGas
Gold Shovel Standard can help utilities influence the behavior of third-party excavators through its network, including smaller excavators that work in rural areas.
Many Safety and Damage Prevention departments within utilities are concerned that the overwhelming majority of excavators – large, small, rural, urban, experienced and new – are not adequately equipped to manage their business against line strike performance.
- All Gold Shovel Standard-Certified excavators are equipped with specialized software to improve performance and conduct sophisticated analysis of their damage prevention performance. They are also prepared to communicate to their utility customers an empirical, detailed performance history and comparison to industry benchmarks, based on crew assessment, location, type of client, individual task and many other parameters.
- Gold Shovel Standard Communities are an innovative approach to shifting the paradigm of how damages are viewed. Gold Shovel Standard Communities embrace the recognition that partnerships between asset owners hold the key to driving damage reductions.
- Gold Shovel Standard provides a demonstrable means for reducing risk to buried gas and electric infrastructure along with a clear and simple solution for attacking damages from third parties and small excavators.
- GSS helps manage these programs more efficiently and may help maintain the reputation of both the utility and excavator in the event of an incident.
Case Study: 38% Reduction in Third-Party Damages
In less than 33 months, Gold Shovel Standard member Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), saw a 38 percent reduction in third-party line strikes, through its partnerships to establish a Gold Shovel Standard Community in the Sacramento, California region.
Costs
The current annual fee for utilities is $2400. To request a utility membership specialist contact you, call Member Services at (855) 676-7252, or email Gold Shovel Standard.
