At present, the rural electric power system of Russia is a powerful complex, which includes 2.3 million km of overhead power lines with a voltage of 110 - 35 -10 - 0.4 kV, 500 thousand transformer substations with a total capacity of 90 million. kilovoltampere, 20 million electric motors for industrial purposes, 77 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed annually in rural areas and the agricultural sector of the economy. At the same time, the state of the electrical facilities of the infrastructure of cities and rural settlements in Russia poses a threat to national security. The electrical networks of industrial and public buildings and residential buildings built more than 50 years ago have completely exhausted their resource, require replacement and the introduction of modern methods of electrical protection. This is confirmed by large fires that regularly occur in the regions of the country. Technogenic fires caused by the operation of electrical installations (ES) at economic facilities and in the residential sector lead to the death and injury of people and the destruction of material resources, environmental degradation. The number of such fires exceeds 50% of the total number of emergencies. Keywords: TECHNOGENIC FIRES, LEAKAGE CURRENTS IN ELECTRICAL INSTALLATIONS, THERMAL OVERLOAD, HUMAN-MACHINE SYSTEM