THE CRITICAL FLASHOVER (CFO) VOLTAGE OF AN INSULATION STRUCTURE IS COMMONLY USED TO DESCRIBE THE INSULATION STRUCTURE¡¯S LIGHTNING IMPULSE STRENGTH. THE FIBERGLASS DISTRIBUTION POLE WAS RECENTLY INTRODUCED TO POWER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS. HOWEVER, VERY LITTLE WORK HAS BEEN DONE ON EITHER THE LIGHTNING IMPULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTRIBUTION LINE STRUCTURES WITH FIBERGLASS POLES OR THE ELECTRICAL DEGRADATION OF FIBERGLASS. THE WORK IN THIS THESIS REPRESENTS THE RESULTS OF A LABORATORY STUDY ON LIGHTNING IMPULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF DISTRIBUTION LINE STRUCTURES WITH FIBERGLASS POLES AND THE ELECTRICAL DEGRADATION OF FIBERGLASS. THE CRITICAL FLASHOVER (CFO) VOLTAGES OF THE FIBERGLASS DISTRIBUTION POLE AS AN INSULATION STRUCTURE ALONE AND ITS COMBINATION WITH VARIOUS INSULATORS WERE EVALUATED. THE ADDED CFO VOLTAGES FROM FIBERGLASS DISTRIBUTION POLES TO BASIC INSULATION COMPONENTS WERE CALCULATED BASED ON THE TEST RESULTS. THE ACCELERATED AGING TESTS AND CORRESPONDING ELECTRICAL EVALUATION TESTS WERE ALSO CONDUCTED TO INVESTIGATE THE ELECTRICAL DEGRADATION OF FIBERGLASS.