A red tag is a notice placed on a customer facility when a utility company employee or a city or county inspector notes an unsafe condition. The red tag notes that service has been discontinued and cannot be reconnected until the unsafe condition is rectified. It is typical to write the reason for the red tag on the tag itself.
A red tag may be applied to a whole facility, parts of the facility’s gas or electric infrastructure, or to specific equipment within a facility. A customer should never attempt to restore service to red-tagged infrastructure or equipment without first receiving approval from the entity that placed the tag.
Examples of electrical service situations that would be red tagged include unsafe wiring, improperly installed panels, an insufficient meter enclosure, bypassing the meter, improper grounding, and an undersized service or service wire.
Examples of gas service situations include a gas leak within the facility, badly corroded gas supply lines, use of improper piping, damaged equipment such as furnaces or stoves, and improper venting of gas appliances.
Utility companies must have a system for tracking the status of all red tags.