Neutral wire failed inside the transformer. Normally not a
problem. But they had an insufficient earth ground
connection. Electricity therefore found another path back to
transformer via the gas meter. Fortunately no one was home
when it exploded. But MilkyWhy already knows all this.

Years of experience and knowledge - such as posted above -
clearly are wrong. After all, MilkyWhy needs no experience
and no electrical training to know those ground rods only
create damage. Stupid government regulations only make
MilkyWhy's life more expensive (even though those regulations
are from non-government, non-profit organizations). Good
thing that MilkyWhy never bothered wasting time first learning
how electricity works or gaining years of experience. He has
his junk science reasoning to prove we are fools - and only he
can be right.

When you eventually learn enough to reinstall that eight
foot ground rod, then do not use the original hole. Again,
from experience and knowledge. Drive that rod into a new
location - for reasons electrical.

MilkyWhy wrote:
Years of experience and knowledge could certainly be wrong.
And aren't you worried about that 1 foot ground rod still
being a "lightning magnet"?
george

Notice, over the years, George, that certain things happen in
certain ways and in predictable circumstances. I have noticed
that new houses with deep grounding for their electrical boxes
seem to be more prone to lightning strikes than older setup's.
If I had to dream up a theory to go along with this, I would
say that the EMF potential in the sky instantaneously seeks the
very least path of resistance. The better grounds take the shot,
while the lesser ones often do not.