CLEVELAND, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- With the arrival of the spring landscaping and construction season, Dominion East Ohio reminds homeowners and excavating contractors to work safely and comply with state law by calling the Ohio Utilities Protection Service (OUPS), toll-free, at either 811 or 1-800-362-2764 before digging.

State law requires customers and contractors to call OUPS at least two working days before digging to prevent potential injuries from accidental utility line dig-ins. Third-party damage is the leading cause of accidents involving utility lines. (> View a Dominion video.)

"The safety of our customers and the communities we serve is Dominion East Ohio's paramount concern," said Scott Miller, vice president and general manager. "We urge property owners and contractors to invest a few minutes in calling 811 at least 48 hours before digging. This will ensure a safe excavation."

OUPS will alert Dominion and other participating utilities of customer and contractor plans to dig. OUPS will ask these utilities to mark the approximate location of their underground gas lines and utility cables so that customers won't find them by accident. Also, for safety's sake, customers and contractors should only dig around utility lines by hand.

For more natural gas safety information, customers can visit www.dom.com/about/safety/contractor-safety.jsp, or www.domsafety.com or www.safegasohio.org.

Dominion East Ohio is a subsidiary of Dominion, (NYSE:D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,600 megawatts of generation, 10,900 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines.  Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 10 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

SOURCE Dominion East Ohio