Matt Whiting wrote:

Bob S. wrote:

....
... In rural Canada there are thousands of homes fed by
a single transmission line. No neutral/ground. This line goes into a
transformer which then feeds the home & outbuildings. What's happening
here? I assume the transformer is supplying 110/220 single phase, but
if Canada can do it with one wire, why does the USA do it with two?
Does that factor into the one phase/two phase argument?

I'm not a power transmission expert so I'm not 100% sure on this. They
are obviously using the ground as the "neutral." In the US typically a
separate neutral line is run, but it is also grounded at each service
entrance to ensure that no potential exists between the neutral and the
grounding conductor.

....

The areas in Canada where single-line transmission lines are still used
is an area where there is also a relatively high iron content in the
ground so that the ground conductivity is higher than in many other
places, as well as being rural. (At least that was what the fella's at
the power stations in SE Saskatchewan (Poplar River PS near Weyburn)
told me when I was there.) The earth-return is, indeed, a cost-saving
device in those remote areas. There used to be a few places in the US,
but to the best of my knowledge they have all been
upgraded/replaced...the original REA co-op lines strung in our service
area (in 1947-'48!) were one-wire, but were replaced as early as
practical...I don't remember any past roughly the mid-50's.