Eventually, electrical discharges can arc across spacecraft components, harming and possibly disabling them. If sufficient charge accumulates in any one component, it may attempt to neutralize by discharging to other components. This discharge is potentially hazardous to the satellite's electronic systems. When magnetic fields move about in the vicinity of a conductor such as a wire, an electric current is induced into the conductor. This happens on a grand scale during geomagnetic storms.
Power companies transmit alternating current to their customers via long transmission lines.
The nearly direct currents induced in these lines from geomagnetic storms are harmful to electrical transmission equipment. Rapidly fluctuating geomagnetic fields can induce currents into pipelines. During these times, several problems can arise for pipeline engineers. Flow meters in the pipeline can transmit erroneous flow information, and the corrosion rate of the pipeline is dramatically in creased. If engineers unwittingly attempt to balance the current during a geomagnetic storm, corrosion rates may increase even more.