Again, to keep this in perspective. A protector is not protection.
Building earthing is the protection. So that every wire in every
cable gets connected to protection, a 'whole house' protector is
installed. That protection is enhanced by expanding or improving an
earthing system.

If computer is plugged into a duplex outlet and a power strip
protector is attached to the other duplex outlet, then computer is
protected just like it was plugged into that power strip.

If a power strip is connected elsewhere on the same branch circuit,
then protector is providing to everything on that circuit as if those
appliances were plugged directly into that power strip protector.

Circuit breakers take milliseconds to trip. Surges are done in
microseconds. One tripped breaker would be due to damage (temporary
or permanent) created by a 'long gone' surge. Breaker tripped due to
utility electricity long after the surge was over.

To get reimbursed, one must prove damage was due to something that
PG&E did. Electric companies are usually honest about it. But if
they don't know of anything they did wrong, then burden of proof will
be upon you. Many people with damage may not be sufficient to claim
they did anything wrong.

On May 21, 12:22 pm, NoOne N Particular wrote:
I wish I had a whole house surge protector last week. We just had an apparently
LARGE power surge in our neighborhood that affected 4800 of PG&E's finest
customers. We have had a lot of interruptions (at least 2 or three a year) but
not like this one. It happened at 12:30AM and when it happened it sounded like
something actually hit the house. SWMBO and I got up and started looking
around and then it happened again. Over the next few days I talked to some of
our neighbors and everyone has lost some sort of electrical (or should I say
ELECTRONIC) device(s). All kinds of stuff from radios and tvs to battery
chargers/maintainers, microwave ovens, dishwashers, refrigerators. I'm sure
some people will use this as an excuse, but I'll bet that most of it is real.

As for me, PG&E will be getting a bill for two new computers that smoked the
power supplies and blew the motherboards and memory (One I had neglected to put
back on the surge suppressor after doing work in it, and one that was actually
ON a surge suppressor but it was a real cheapie), an air pump for our Select
Comfort air bed, a battery charger for my cordless tools, and our dishwasher.
All of which fried the electronic circuit boards in them.

I would hope that this is what whole house suppressors are designed to protect
us from. It would save me all the hassle of having to repair/replace all that
stuff, and of course all the hassle of filling out paperwork and hassling with
PG&E. Probably worth the price just for that. However I am still wondering why
only one circuit breaker tripped. Too instantaneous maybe??