Dive Summary:
- It least six farmers have active "stray voltage" lawsuits against utilities in Minnesota, alleging that damaged lines led to their cattle becoming pathways for electrical currents to complete their circuits back to substations.
- The phenomenon has been an issue since the 1980s and occurs due to electricity returning to substations via damaged or overloaded lines' grounding rods, which also electrifies things like mud, metal milk machines and water troughs—though the utilities say research from the 1990s shows that the amount of electricity the animals are exposed to isn't significant.
- In a recent ruling, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a 2012 ruling in favor of farmer Harlan Poppler, who lost an estimated $700,000 due to the phenomenon, and his herd's mortality rate has decreased from 30% to 4% since a judge ordered Wright Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association to replace a 1940s-era power line.
From the article:
... A Minnesota House bill introduced in 2011 that would have enacted a state stray voltage task force never took off. In Wisconsin, a proposed bill would ban stray voltage lawsuits against utilities for damages caused by electricity.
[State Sen. Bruce] Anderson, who proposed the task force legislation after visiting the Poppler farm, initially wanted a bill requiring utilities to update their grids, but received pushback from the companies. ...