41

UPDATE 5/25 - The electric company spliced and re-buried the cables. It's a 120V line and should have been buried at least a foot below ground. They'll come by again to locate the rest of the line leading up to our electrical box and trench it deeper if it's too shallow. I added a photo of the progress so far.

Usually I'm pretty careful when I mow, but last time I got careless and accidentally hit this exposed cable with the mower.

I'm not sure what this is for or why it's exposed in the first place, but it's pretty close to the green electrical pillar outside our house. The outside sheathing is rubber and and the inside looks like a twisted steel cable with a bit of PVC pipe.

Any idea what this is or what I can do to bury it? Do I need to get our utilities/electric company involved?

close-up

zoom out for scale

UPDATE - Spliced and buried.

enter image description here

Improve this question
1
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.
    – Niall C. ♦
    May 26, 2021 at 18:09

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
61

That is a Homac 600V rated splice so it's probably part of your electric service. I would be calling the power company right now and report a dig in to an exposed service or secondary lateral.

Stay away from it until the power company inspects it. It could be an abandoned line but you want to assume it's hot. It looks like a ground rod has been driven close by so maybe some old facilities have been relocated.

Improve this answer
7
  • 49
    Yeah, and that should not be anywhere near the surface. This is not your mistake, unless, you re-graded without calling the "I am digging holes in my yard, help me find pipes and wires not to hit" number, commonly 311.
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    May 25, 2021 at 0:00
  • 5
    The other thing is certainly the top-end of a ground rod. And both should NOT be exposed in the middle of a lawn.
    – Tonny
    May 25, 2021 at 9:37
  • 2
    @Harper-ReinstateMonica I haven't done any re-grading or digging in this area, but I have noticed some subsidence over the last year, which may have exposed it even more. FWIW, the call-before-you-dig number for my area is 811.
    – Bucket
    May 25, 2021 at 13:18
  • 2
    @Bucket As there seems to be nothing connected to the ground rod (normally that screw terminal at the top would be used for that) pulling it out (or cutting it as far down as you are willing to dig) is the sensible thing to do. Pulling out can be very difficult. These ground-rods can be really fused to the ground. If you have a long-handled crowbar you may be able to pull it up like a nail. Put a block of wood or a cinder-block on the ground to give yourself a solid surface for leverage.
    – Tonny
    May 25, 2021 at 13:48
  • 4
    Surely better to get the electrical company to do that??!!!
    – Araucaria - Not here any more.
    May 27, 2021 at 2:00

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.