I thought that the starting current for most HID ballasts was less than the running current. I has been on all of the fixtures that I have installed in the last few years. Even with the lower starting current, the inrush is still high, but not as high as incandescent.
Dual element fuses are often installed at about 150% of ballast load to prevent the circut breaker from trippin when there is a ballast failure.
Don
