The Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Stray Voltage project began in August and will run through January 2020. The project consists of four UDC field technicians and one field technician lead working in southern Maryland to perform external voltage tests on over 54,000 surface structure, street lights, and underground units. Equipment being tested includes transformers, vaults, enclosures, pedestals, switch cabinets, street lights, manholes and pull boxes. Some of the voltage testing will also be done by the UDC team performing transformer inspections for SMECO.
UDC techs perform initial testing, and if any voltage is detected, a numeric reading of the voltage is obtained. Readings over 1 volt are reported to SMECO for immediate troubleshooter response.