IMPORTANT NOTICE
We are aware of a delay with NGED responses while an issue is being investigated. Please note, all responses will be processed in order of request once this issue has been resolved.
If you have an urgent enquiry regarding NGED mapping, please forward your request to mailbox nged.lsbudmapping@nationalgrid.co.uk providing the following details:
- Contact Name
- Contact phone number
- Email address
- Full Address of plan or grid co ordinates
Your request will be processed with their working hours of 7am to 6pm.
As an additional measure until the LSBUD service is functioning normally, the NGED Dataportal will be made available for users who urgently require prints. The system is not designed for high levels of access, so in the interests of all users please only register if you need a plot in the next few days.
To register for the Dataportal, click on the link below and then select the Register option. Note that once registered a link will be emailed to users to confirm their email address, registration cannot be completed until this has been acknowledged.
https://dataportal2.westernpower.co.uk
Full details for using Dataportal can be found on the sites Help page.
LSBUD IS FOR ANYONE INVOLVED IN
LSBUD IS FOR ANYONE INVOLVED IN
National Damage Prevention Day 2026
Back for its 8th year, National Damage Prevention Day is returning to the iconic St George’s Park in Burton-On-Trent on Tuesday 9th June 2026.
As the UK’s foremost event focused on damage prevention and safe excavation practices, the 2026 programme promises a comprehensive agenda tailored to a wide range of industry professionals. Attendees can expect the return of popular features from previous years, alongside exciting new additions designed to enhance the experience and engagement throughout the day.
For 2026 we will also be introducing the National Safe Digging Awards Evening. Following the growing success of ‘The Larries’ – introduced by LSBUD in 2023 – this dedicated evening celebration will follow on from the daytime event and elevate recognition for outstanding contributions to safe digging practices even further.
Find out more about both events and book your tickets here and if you book a combined ticket before the end of 2025 you can grab yourself 10% off!
LinesearchbeforeUdig
What is LSBUD?
LSBUD exists to help keep people safe.
With over 60%, and rising, of Great Britain’s utility infrastructure protected by LSBUD, it is firmly established as the national safe digging service.
It helps over 160 asset owners (‘Members’) protect over 2 million km of assets from damage by responding immediately to circa 4 million third party ‘User’ enquiries every year. The assets protected include over 2 million km of pipes and cables in the electricity, gas, high pressure fuel, water and telecoms / fibre optic networks.
With over 300,000 registered Users representing utility companies, contractors, councils, landowners and the public, LSBUD connects those that need the information with those that own the assets.
Hide
WHAT?
Need Utility Maps? – LinesearchbeforeUdig (LSBUD) is a free to use online search service that any individual (“User”) can use to check their works against over 160 asset owners’ (“Members”) utility assets. These assets include hundreds of thousands of kilometres of underground and overhead pipelines and cables in the electricity, gas, high pressure fuel/oil, heating, water and fibre optic networks. The service processes circa 4 million enquiries per annum- that’s more than one every 10 seconds
WHY?
There are many benefits of using the service, including:
- Keeping you safe by reducing the risk of death & injuries caused by asset strikes.
- Saving you time by receiving multiple responses to a single search to assist with locating services.
- Avoiding any unexpected costly damages to assets.
- Encouraging best practise for all stakeholders.
- Providing essential communication channels between asset owners and those working near their network.
WHO?
The service is designed to be used by anyone that needs to know where utility assets (pipelines and cables) are in order to work safely. This includes:
- Contractors
- Utilities
- Local Authorities
- Excavators
- Fencing installers
- Private Individuals
- Farmers
- Conveyancers
…and many more.
HOW?
The service can be broken down into three easy steps –
- You provide a few details of your works and submit a free online enquiry
- You receive an instant response showing which of our registered asset owners (“Members”) have assets near your site
- Our registered asset owners send you the plans of their assets relevant for your area, in accordance with their processes.
RECENT NEWS FROM LSBUD
LSBUD Welcomes Greenlink Interconnector Limited
LSBUD Welcomes Greenlink Interconnector Limited LSBUD (Linesearch BeforeUdig) are delighted to welcome Greenlink Interconnector Limited as our latest Member joining over 160 other assets owners who put their trust in the LSBUD solution. Greenlink is a subsea and...
Digging Up Britain Report 2024
Digging Up Britain Report 2024The UK’s safe digging industry report, Digging Up Britain, is back for its seventh edition, documenting the latest trends, hot topics and data from all the groundwork taking place across the UK last year.This must-read and powerful...
Drax Power Limited Upgrade to LSBUD Hosted Plan Response Service
Drax Power Upgrade to LSBUD’s Hosted Plan Response We are delighted to confirm that we have now upgraded three major gas turbine power stations on behalf of Drax Power Limited to the full Hosted Plan Response from LSBUD (Linesearch BeforeUdig)Since...
LSBUD Members
% of utility infrastructure protected in the UK
enquiries every year
kms of assets protected
utility and asset owners
Digging Up Britain 2025 Report
Damage Prevention Campaign
"We are delighted with the way that LSBUD has transformed our whole process of managing asset data requests. We now have a faster and more reactive solution that gives utilities, developers and local authorities unrivalled access to our asset data online, whilst at the same time, protecting our intellectual property rights. Most importantly, in making our data more widely available, we are dramatically reducing the likelihood of asset strikes helping everyone to work more safely and efficiently, leaving us more time to do what we do best - managing our network on behalf of our customers."
Mary Horsted
Network Planning and Administration Supervisor
"It has been refreshing to work with LSBUD on this project. I can’t think of another service provider that cares for its Members or the industry as much as LSBUD does. It is always thinking about how it can make safety better, and UKPN is pleased to be a part of that.”
Emily Wood
Cable Damage and Plan Provision Manager at UK Power Networks
“LSBUD has provided us with a fast, efficient and trouble-free way of distributing our network location data, ensuring that all have access to it. National Grid Electricity Distribution has worked with LSBUD for five years, and we’re immensely pleased with the service provided. LSBUD has massively reduced the number of mapping requests that need to be processed in-house, hugely reducing our workload in this capacity.”
Dave Burnford
Mapping Technical Team Manager at National Grid Electricity Distribution
“Our customers now have access to information about our network 24 hours a day, all year around. The portal helps customers with simple enquiries to self-serve, while our experienced team focus more on complex and challenging enquiries like high pressure pipelines. With LSBUD's support we have been able to give more customers better information. 7.5 million people rely on our network everyday and improving the information provided not only improves the customer experience, it also keeps our network safer."
Stephen Davies
Plant Protection Network Officer
Featured Case Study
Wales and West Utilities (WWU) has automated its mapping processes since 2018, freeing up more time for high-risk cases and reducing annual incidents, thanks to LSBUD.
With mapping requests quickly becoming unsustainable, WWU signed up to LSBUD’s collaborative portal in 2018,experiencing immediate and substantial improvements.
The system implemented by LSBUD has also helped the team accommodate more enquiries, without sacrificing on safety. In fact, between 2018-2023, the average number of searches per month has increased from around 2,050 to 52,700 (over 25 times greater), now accounting for over 630,000 enquiries a year.
Most notably, since joining the LSBUD system, WWU has witnessed a reduction in its annual incidents. In 2018, there were 1,553 damages across the entire network, a figure that had been rising since it was first tracked in 2012. By 2023, the total damages recorded had dropped to 1,228, the lowest it’s been since its records began. Given that total searches increased substantially over the same period, this is a staggering achievement and positive proof that sharing plans and escalating the riskiest searches through the LSBUD platform works at any scale.
