04/19/05 Stray voltage, part two

Idaho Power has trained engineers who are looking for stray voltage on dairy farms. That's what Paul Ortmann does. He has a two prone approach when he visits a dairy. First he looks at the Idaho Power Company equipment and lines before he starts checking the dairy itself. ORTMANN "In general on the farm what we're looking at is every place a cow is going to be forced to go as part of their normal activities in the operations of the dairy where they might find a voltage. We try to find all of those locations." So what happens if they find excessive stray voltage? Ortmann says you'll get his ideas on ways to fix the problem. ORTMANN "In general we will test our recommendations first. Most of the recommendations are fairly simple things, its drive a ground rod and connect that ground rod to this metal water case, that kind of thing." And the best part of this investigation, which can last three days, is the price. ORTMANN "There's no charge for however long it takes us to determine what's happening." A little preventative action might be necessary. Idaho Power is telling dairymen who don't think they have a stray voltage problem now to still have their farm checked. Why? So they have data they can refer to if a problem arises in the future. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott