4. Lightning protection standards and regulations

4.1 Plant protection standards

Lightning is a major disruptive factor in the operation of ground installations. All installations are affected, from buildings to telecommunications, power transmission and distribution networks, for a number of reasons:

• lightning can cause temporary disruptions that have an impact on service quality;

• lightning can destroy equipment, resulting in lengthy downtime;

• lightning is a danger to people (step voltage, potential rise on grounds and earth circuit).

It is therefore easy to understand the importance of standardization work aimed at defining the principles and methods of lightning protection....