Milk Producer April 2016 | Page 28

[ TEAM CREATED TO ADDRESS STRAY VOLTAGE H ydro One has created a team to investigate stray voltage affecting Ontario’s agricultural community, says Brent Royce, director for the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) who also sits on the Stray Voltage-Uncontrolled Electricity Agriculture Working Group. Royce runs a turkey farm in Listowel, Ont., which has been affected by stray voltage. Hydro One and OFA began working together on the stray voltage issue in 2013, Royce says. Hydro One committed then to investigate stray voltage and found the complaint system wasn’t effective and there was inconsistent application of technical expertise, he says. As a result, Hydro One announced in late March it has created the Farm Rapid Response Team to address the issue. It consists of a centralized team with a farm response engineer and test specialists to cover areas across Ontario, Royce says. The team will manage and investigate all on-farm stray voltage complaints. It will also audit the testing conducted by electricians to ensure it is done properly and to regulatory standards, he adds. The hydro provider has also developed an ASSURANCE PROGRAM SHOWS CANADIAN MILK IS PRODUCED UNDER HIGH STANDARDS D airy Farmers of Canada (DFC) is on schedule with implementing proAction –