Abstract – The electromechanical ground protection relay 59GN commonly used in generator protection does not respond to grounds in the bottom ~5% of the stator winding. Recent experience with 4 such failures to large generators suggests that this lack of protection can be a disastrous deficiency. These 4 failures each caused massive damage to the generator, and collectively had a total cost, including repair and loss of generation, close to $500,000,000. This paper will describe those 4 failures, and will discuss newer ground relay systems that monitor and protect the entire stator winding for grounds. The objective of this paper is to encourage owner/operators to add one of the newer relay systems.