04/18/05 Stray voltage, part one

Idaho Power Company agricultural reps and power quality engineers are trying to get the word out about stray voltage. Colleen Ramsey says dairymen need to know about this. RAMSEY "Trying to communicate to dairymen what stray voltage is and that its detectable and correctable. Those problems are correctable if they're found on their farm and that we have services to help them do that." The inspection program has always been around for quite awhile but a multi-million dollar judgement against the Idaho Power by a Magic Valley dairy has made the company more proactive about stray voltage. RAMSEY "It's a natural result of the electrical system we use and its not a problem unless there's a voltage difference that a cow can detect." Better to be safe than sorry. Idaho Power's Paul Ortmann will inspect a dairy, all he needs is a call for the owner. ORTMANN "All of our power quality engineers are trained in these investigations and we're looking at adding some technicians that will assist us in this as well." A stray electrical current passing through a cow's body may cause reduced milk production and health problems. So how does the inspection program work, what does Idaho Power look for in an inspection and what if there's a problem? Those answers in part two of our report tomorrow. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott