Nicholls introduces motion to measure ground currents on farms

REGIONAL —– Last week, Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Leamington, presented a Private Member’s Motion on developing a working group for accurately measuring stray current that is affecting livestock and people on Ontario farms.

After over a year of working closely with various ministries and experts in the field, MPP Nicholls received unanimous Legislative approval, a very positive move for farming communities.

“It is refreshing to finally see all the hard work that my team and I have done finally paying off,” said Rick Nicholls, MPP for Chatham-Kent-Leamington. “Farmers and Ontarians all across the province who have stray current issues will be one step closer to fixing these problems for good.”

“I applaud the work of my colleague, MPP Rick Nicholls, for his dedication to get this important issue addressed at Ontario’s legislature,” said Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, Minister of Indigenous Affairs. “I look forward to reviewing the working group feedback so we can find real solutions for the hardworking Ontarians and farmers facing issues with stray voltage.”

“Farmers and their livestock have been suffering for decades because of the ground current problem in Ontario and this is now the third Private Member’s Bill addressing this issue. With Rick Nicholls chairing a working group on how to measure and remediate ground current, and the Minister of Energy supporting this Bill, we may finally resolve this decade long problem and bring relief to our farmers and their animals,” said Dr. Magda Havas, PhD, Professor Emerita at Trent University and one of MPP Nicholls’ experts on the topic.

This PMB Motion will allow for the creation of working groups, which will include a variety of experts in the field, to work together and develop best practices in order to protect people and livestock from stray currents.

These working groups will also be working closely with local distribution companies to measure both 60 Hz and kHz frequencies around nearby transformers.

MPP Nicholls has recommended through his motion that the purpose of this working group will be to learn how to monitor ground current based on the most recent scientific research.

In addition, this working group will identify which equipment is best to use, how to best discover the source, remediate problems, and develop workshops for better educating people on conducting ground current monitoring.