In situation as described, an igniter was powered off. But igniter
was damaged. How? A transient that would have harmed that igniter,
instead, must be earthed where AC enters the building. Turning off
power did not protect igniter - in this scenario.

One thing I try to do, ... is turn off all equipment ...
First, that surge solution uses something that is unreliable - human
action. Second, the igniter was even off when damaged. If utility
switching creates a surge that seeks earth ground, then surge may seek
earth ground, destructively, through household electronics due to
missing earthing or no earthed 'whole house' protector.

One can complain about utility power. Complaints don't change
reality. Transient that typically overwhelms internal appliance
protection is why all homes now require post 1990 earthing and a
properly earthed 'whole house' protector. That has been reality since
1970s. Complaints don't change that reality.

A 'whole house' protector is not 100% protection. A roof is also not
100% protection from weather. So what do we do? Not install a roof?
Or install something that protects from most all weather? Same reason
for installing a properly earthed 'whole house' protector.

sherwindu wrote:
I agree with your opinion on providing clean power. However, the problem in
these cases is not the duration of the power outage, but the transients
introduced when it is restored. Besides current spikes, the power can
overshoot above the 120/240 volt standard and/or oscillate around that value
until things settle down. That plays havoc on any electrical system. One thing
I try to do, if I can catch it in time, is turn off all equipment, especially the AC
unit in preparation for the power coming back up. Sometimes it could be a
power station faulty relay that will 'chatter' turning the power off and on in rapid
succession. I'm not sure these fancy grounding systems can compensate for
that.

Sherwin D.