Cable maps and markings
Before striking the first shovel or ordering an excavator, find out the location of the underground cables and the district heating pipes. You can see the maps free of charge in our map service. Please also refer to our operating instructions for working in the vicinity of underground cables.
When you dig, don't trust your luck or your memory. Often, damage is caused by mechanical excavation work. But you should also be careful when using a shovel. For example, when making holes in the ground for fence posts, the iron bar may hit a cable.
Damaging an electric cable is not a minor accident. In the worst case scenario, the damage could result in power outages for tens of thousands of households and could cost tens of thousands of euros. The costs are always borne by the person who caused the damage. So always find out in advance where the cables are.
Our map service provides you with up-to-date maps of the locations of electrical cables and district heating pipes. We provide copies of the maps to our customers free of charge. We also have microfilms of the electrical plans of old properties. Our archives contain a large number of the electrical plans made during the years 1960–1995, which are useful for the renovation of old properties, for example. You can have a microfilm free of charge from us.
Damage to a cable always causes a hazardous situation
If damage occurs despite all precautions, you must not inspect the damaged cable by yourself. Report the damage to our on-call fault service without delay.
Restrictions on construction in the vicinity of high-voltage power lines
A building or an integral part of a building may not be built in a construction-restricted area of a 110 kV high-voltage line. For electrical safety reasons, request permission for all structures planned in the restricted area. These include columns, parking areas, carports, roads, flagpoles, fences, lamps, trampolines, and wires.
A construction-restricted area typically consists of a 26-metre wide bedding with a 110 kV line and 10-metre wide edge zones on both sides of the bedding, with limited tree growth.
