A system and method for maintaining electrical stability of a high-voltage transmission power system in response to a fault. The method includes detecting the fault, opening a switch to clear the fault, performing a first pulse test for a predetermined duration of time to determine if the fault is still present, preventing a reclosing operation from occurring if the pulse test indicates that the fault is still present, and allowing the reclosing operation to occur if the first pulse test indicates that the fault is not present. One or more subsequent pulse tests can be performed if the first pulse test is inclusive about the persistence of the fault, where the reclosing operation is prevented from occurring if the pulse tests indicate that the fault is still present and the reclosing operation is allowed if the pulse tests indicate that the fault is no longer present.