SUMMARY
This paper presents an efficient method for the calculation of the induced voltage in a finite‐length horizontal overhead conductor over a finitely conducting earth. The method uses the classical Rusck's analytical expression for perfect conducting earth added to a second component that considers the influence of the horizontal electric field developed at the surface of a finitely conducting earth. The results obtained with the proposed formulation are compared with a computer code based on the Finite‐Difference Time‐Domain (FDTD) Method earlier presented by the authors as well as with different formulations proposed by Paolone et al., He‐Ming et al. and Andreotti et al. In all cases, a very good agreement is verified. The presented formulation is very efficient in saving computer time and may be a powerful tool for lightning performance analysis of overhead distribution lines. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.