Detection of Stray Voltage
By letter dated August 22, 2008, the New York State Department of State Division of Consumer Protection submitted its comments regarding the appropriateness of the New York State Public Service Commission's (PSC) current regulations to ensure the safety of the electric network operated by utilities in the State. In particular, we recommend that the PSC build upon Consolidated Edison’s recent success in identifying and repairing stray voltage conditions in its underground networks, which is attributable to the utility’s use of advanced mobile stray voltage detection technology. We urge the PSC to conduct a pilot program in which this technology is used by other New York State utilities for their underground networks, to determine the extent to which PSC regulations should be revised to require use of this technology statewide.