Some myths die hard. One of those myths is that if you put one foot on a ground rod, you are safe. This belief is based on the myth that the ground rod is at zero potential with whatever you might touch. The rationale for the zero-potential myth is the myth that electricity follows the path of least resistance (not true), and the ground rod is the low resistance path (false if you put your body in parallel with it).
Yet, grounds are important for power line safety. Never remove a power line ground in a residential application; that creates an electrocution hazard because of the way electric utilities handle residential neutral and ground connections.
In a commercial or industrial setting, removing the power line ground may seriously degrade the performance of the lightning protection system. Lightning too far away to see can induce a power surge on lines that aren’t even energized. If you must disconnect that ground, connect a temporary bypass first.
