NRSWA Locate & Avoid Underground Services

The New Roads and Street Works Act (NRSWA) places a legal duty on anyone carrying out excavation or ground-penetrating works to locate, identify, and avoid underground services. These services include electricity cables, gas pipes, water mains, telecommunications ducts, sewers, and district heating networks.

Striking an underground service can lead to serious injury or death, major service disruption, environmental damage, and significant legal and financial consequences. Effective location and avoidance is therefore a critical part of planning and executing any works.

Based on reports released in 2025 documenting the previous year’s data, utility strikes in the UK remain a significant safety and infrastructure risk. 

Total Utility Strikes: The Utility Strike Avoidance Group (USAG) and other reports estimate that approximately 60,000 accidental utility strikes occur annually in the UK.

Electrical Cable Strikes (2024 data): The Digging Up Britain 2025 report highlighted 2,581 electrical-related incidents involving underground cables in 2024, representing a 15.8% increase.

Injuries and Fatalities: According to the Digging Up Britain 2025 report, of those electrical incidents, 29 resulted in injuries and one was fatal.

Overall Worker Safety (2024/25): The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reported 124 worker deaths in allwork-related incidents between April 2024 and March 2025, with 35 of those in construction. 

Context on Damages
While the exact number of 2025 strikes is currently being documented, the 60,000+ estimated annual strikes result in significant damage to plant, disruption, and cost, with a predicted total economic impact of roughly £2.4bn annually.d ensure compliance.

Summary

The NRSWA Location and Avoidance of Underground Services – 1-Day Training course is a vital investment in safety, compliance, and professional competence. By combining legal knowledge, practical detection skills, and safe excavation techniques, it helps protect workers, the public, and critical infrastructure.