Abstract: An apparatus and method of driving and increasing the load bearing strength of an electrically conductive pile driven into soil having water above the soil. The top of the pile is insulated on the outside, but the bottom is uninsulated. The pile is driven into the water and soil until the insulator is below the bottom of the water thereby insulating the pile from the water. The anode of an electrical circuit having an anode, a d-c power source, and at least one cathode, is connected to the pile with the cathode placed in the soil. Current is directed from the anode to the cathode through the soil drying out the soil about the uninsulated portion of the pile for reducing the water content of the soil adjacent the uninsulated portion and increasing the load bearing strength of the soil. The length of the uninsulated pipe is at least as great as the length of the insulated pipe and the length of the insulator is substantially the same as the length of the pile above the soil.