Lightning investigation on Wallenpaupack-Siegfried 220-kv line of Pennsylvania power and light company

THE Wallenpaupack-Siegfried line, the pioneer 220-kv circuit in the eastern United States, was completed in 1926.¹ Little information on lightning, and most of it incorrect, existed at the time, and the design chosen proved inadequate to cope with the severe lightning conditions encountered. Partly because of this fact an investigation was started that year by the General Electric Company, the Electric Bond and Share Company, and the Pennsylvania Power and Light Company, to learn the facts about natural lightning and means for protection against its disastrous effects. This investigation has been continued for 15 consecutive years.^2–8