ECN Forum Forums Technical Discussion Electrical Theory and Applications What Does a Ground Rod Do?

Here is a picture of a single line feed to a rural transformer in Saskatchewan.

I'm told the power company tries to get the ground rod resistance down to 10 ohms.

The lower voltage neutral is connected to the high voltage earth return, which also serves as a ground. In fact, the high voltage return is connected to the neutral in every light and plug.

Our new rules forbid grounding the neutral where it enters a barn, so I'm worried about what will happen if the ground system at the pole fails. Until now, grounding the neutral at the barn was required. The cable TV and the telephone are grounded in the building but we're going to quit grounding the high voltage return line.