A phase control switching system for controlling opening and closing timings of a power switching device to suppress the occurrence of an exciting rush current or a make-and-break surge voltage which is severe to system equipment such as a transformer, a reactor and a capacitor bank, or for controlling an arcing time of a circuit breaker to put the circuit breaker into operation for the arcing time leading to no-re-ignition or for the optimal breaking time. In the phase control switching system, a current measuring section or a current gradient measuring section is provided to measure a current value or a current gradient value of a current to be broken or introduced, and a reference phase detecting section estimates a current zero point of a current waveform on the basis of the measurements. Subsequently, a control section, upon receipt of an opening/closing command, an opening phase control operation using an arbitrary time point after the current waveform estimation as a reference.