The main objective of the research was to calculate the voltage and electric field distributions along a standard substation insulator covered with wet-grown ice. More specifically, the research aimed to increase knowledge of the phenomena preceding flashover on substation insulators in melting conditions. Since precise measurement of voltage and especially electric field distribution along an ice-covered substation insulator is very difficult, a numerical method used in commercial software was found to be one of the best solutions, considering the difficulty of measurement. For that purpose, the Boundary Element Method {B.E.M.) was best suited to the task. Moreover, this numerical method had been successfully applied in voltage and electric field calculations along polluted insulators, which behave similarly to ice-covered insulators. Consequently, 2-D and 3-D numerical simulations were undertaken.The 2-D simulations were mainly used as the basis and support for 3-D simulations since a simple ice-covered substation insulator model had to be constructed, because numerical studies of this type were, to our knowledge, unavailable. Two-dimensional modelling of the ice-covered insulator was performed on the basis of a symmetrical diagram, separating the insulator and the ice deposit into two equal parts, based on the idea that ice only accumulates on one side of the insulator. Thus, the 2-D simulations revealed the influence of a water film and its conductivity, the influence of an air gap the location along the insulator, the influence of the air gap length, and that of a partial arc along an air gap on the voltage and electric field distributions along an ice-covered substation insulator. However, the comparison of numerical results to those of laboratory tests showed that 2-D modelling did not represent well the geometry of the insulator since the average relative error was around 22.5%, hence the need for a 3-D model to increase accuracy.For the 3-D simulations and to simplify matters, it was supposed that ice accumulated on the entire surface of the insulator, that is to say over 360°. This considered, modelling of a 15° portion of an ice-covered substation insulator was enough to simulate its general behaviour. Comparison of numerical and experimental results validated the threedimensional model. Thus, a relative average error of 2.6% between experimental and numerical results was obtained, which demonstrated the reliability and pertinence of the B.E.M. for the prediction of voltage and electric field distributions on such a complex geometry as that of an ice-covered substation insulator. Three-dimensional simulations for one accretion period and two melting periods were performed according to experimental observations in a cold chamber, from which the various models were designed. Moreover, IV study of the influence of air gaps and a partial arc on voltage and electric field distributions was undertaken.Simulations of an accretion period showed that air-gap position was mainly determined by the voltag...