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South Jersey Gas Reminds Customers to Avoid Costly and Potentially Dangerous Incidents by Calling 811 Before You Dig

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 4, 2022 – South Jersey Gas, a subsidiary of South Jersey Industries (NYSE: SJI), reminds customers to call the 811 Safe Digging Hotline before beginning projects that require digging – including gardening, building a fence or installing a mailbox – to prevent damage to essential underground utilities and keep communities safe.

Digging without knowing the approximate location of underground utilities is against the law in New Jersey. It can result in serious injuries, inconvenient service disruptions and costly repairs when gas, electric, communications, water and sewer lines are damaged.

Why are we sending this reminder?

In observance of National Safe Digging Month in April, the Common Ground Alliance announced the results of a recent study* finding 49% of U.S. homeowners – nearly 34.9 million Americans – who plan to dig this year will put themselves and their communities at risk by digging without contacting 811 beforehand to learn the approximate location of underground utilities.

After calling the 811 Safe Digging Hotline, professional locators visit the dig site to mark the approximate location of underground utility lines with spray paint, flags or both. Once a site has been accurately marked, it is safe to begin digging around the marked areas.

South Jersey Gas reminds customers to take the following steps when planning a digging project:

  • Always contact 811 at least 3 business days before digging, regardless of the depth or familiarity with the property.
  • Confirm that all lines have been marked.
  • Consider moving the location of your project if it is near utility line markings and hand dig areas within a few feet of utility lines.
  • If a contractor has been hired, confirm that the contractor has contacted 811. Don't allow work to begin if the lines aren't marked.
For more information, visit southjerseygas.com/safety.
About South Jersey Gas

South Jersey Gas, subsidiary of SJI (NYSE:SJI), delivers safe, reliable, affordable natural gas and promotes energy efficiency to more than 400,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, Salem, and portions of Gloucester, Burlington and Camden counties in New Jersey. For more information, visit southjerseygas.com.

About SJI

SJI (NYSE: SJI), an energy infrastructure holding company based in Folsom, NJ, delivers energy services to customers through two primary subsidiaries:  SJI Utilities (SJIU) and SJI Energy Enterprises (SJIEE).  SJIU houses the company’s regulated natural gas utility operations, delivering safe, reliable and affordable natural gas to more than 700,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers across New Jersey via its South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas subsidiaries. SJIEE houses the company’s non-utility operations primarily focused on clean energy development and decarbonization via renewable energy production and energy management activities.  Visit sjindustries.com for more information about SJI and its subsidiaries.

 
About the Common Ground Alliance (CGA)

CGA is a member-driven association of nearly 1,800 individuals, organizations and sponsors in every facet of the underground utility industry. Established in 2000, CGA is committed to saving lives and preventing damage to North American underground infrastructure by promoting effective damage prevention practices. CGA has established itself as the preeminent source of damage prevention data and information in an effort to reduce damages to underground facilities in North America through shared responsibility among all stakeholders. For more information, visit CGA on the web at http://www.commongroundalliance.com.

 
About the study

SSRS conducted a national omnibus phone study between March 4-7, 2022, on behalf of CGA. A total of 1,003 Americans ages 18+ were asked about their homeowner status and opinions on home and property improvement project topics. The survey had a margin of error of +/- 3.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

Media Contact Information

Media Relations:
media@sjindustries.com
Telephone: 609-561-9000 x4496

Investor Contact:
Dan Fidell (609) 561-9000 x7027
dfidell@sjindustries.com

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