Anyone know a better way to protect power lines from lightning?

[BoogieMan]

The code kind of states that it's totally random. Random-ness is going to tend toward the middle of the map anyway (and tend away from the edge).

Actually, any good RNG will have an equal chance of picking literally any area on the map.  Poor quality randomness would be what you're describing.  It may be that one or more mods are resetting it manipulating the RNG, or that it's a poor RNG, or that there is some kind of weighting to it. Or a combination of any of those.

Indeed. With the sample size and number of strikes it seems clear that it is NOT random, regardless of what that line says. I doubt that's all there is to it either. If somehow it is, then it's a downright amazing coincidence to keep occurring over and over.

[milon]

Idea: Backup your save and map.  Turn on Dev Mode.  Trigger weather event: Dry Thunderstorm. Take screenshots. Upload save and pictures.  Tell us what mods you use.  Let others try to reproduce. See what happens.