. >>> a free service -- >> reporter: in this ad, pg&e's jameer dixon urges you to call 811 before you do any work so he can go out and mark your gas lines so you don't break one when you dig. >> me driving that truck means that somebody gets to go home safer, i'll drive it every day of the week. >> reporter: the 2015 ad produced a flood of calls that insiders say caught pg&e offguard and understaffed. unable to respond to each request within two days, as required by state law. in fact, an audit commissioned by pg&e of the 811 effort shows that over five years ending in 2016, the utility submitted between 100,000 and 250,000 false documents with state regulators. each claiming an on-time response when the worker was, in fact, late. >> the number is scary. it's frightening. >> reporter: state senator jerry hill says the two-day response time is there to keep anxious construction crews facing their own deadlines from digging blindly. >> this was the potential for devastating results. we're lucky. we missed it this time. >> reporter: in a suit against the company and his testimony to regu