I haven't caught onto the advantage of the high impedance ground. I think this is another case for having the EGC and GC bonded somewhere -- even at the service drop.
There's really no advantage to the ground being by way of the local rod only. In my opinion, the high loop impedance that results is a liability.
That's probably why the utilities here have been converting their ditribution sytems to PME (Protective Multiple Earthing) so that customers then have the option of bonding the house ground to the neutral, American-style.
