Interesting discussion there. I'm not a member at Mike Holt either , but i do like his explanations of code and have occasionally quoted him .
I didn't see in it though what i believe is the reason we Earth the house side neutral at the pole:
Should a fault connect the transformer's primary(several KV) to its secondary(240V) you want something to disconnect primary power, else you'll have kilovolts floating around inside a residence that's only insulated for hundreds not thousands of volts.
That fault might be a broken primary distribution wire falling onto a secondary
or it might be a transformer internal fault
or it might be a neighborhood cat who got across the terminals while investigating a bird's nest up there.
Solidly earthing the transformer's secondary assures that should it get a dose of several KV from primary side a lot of primary current will flow into Earth opening a primary side fuse, which removes those kilovolts from inside your home.
The reason primary current will flow to Earth is:
the substation transformer feeding the primary line is also earthed back at the substation. So primary fault current flows into Earth and back toward the substation without having to enter your house.
That's why it is important to call the electric company when neighborhood urchins steal that copper wire coming down your pole. It goes from the top where it ties into transformer secondary centertap all the way to bottom of the pole where it's wound into a spiral for good Earth contact. It does double duty - it's also a lightning rod.
If it's not there primary voltage and lightning can get to your house.
I looked for a photo of a pole bottom, to no avail. Take note of next pole you see on a truck - bottom end has that coil of earthing wire.
good pictures here, though
http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/power9.htm
That little bare wire coming down the pole is more important than you might think. Keep an eye on yours.
old jim
