A surge protective device is disclosed that may include a comparator to determine when a line voltage of a line is above a threshold. The device may include a switch to couple a clamping device to the line voltage when the comparator determines the line voltage is above a threshold, wherein the clamping device shunts current from the line. The switch may include a silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) or a thyristor and the clamping device may include a selenium surge suppression device.