How are loads transmitted to the ground?

Answer 1

Loads are not really transmitted to ground. Yes, there is parasitic induction due to capacitive coupling, but the return path for the hot conductor(s) is(are) another hot conductor(s) or neutral. While neutral is grounded, it is essentially a single point connection and, by Kirchoff's current law, has little or no current through ground.

It would seem that this is contradicted by the wye connection because, ultimately, neutral is grounded, making the ultimate return path to be ground. In fact, however, looking at the big picture, each leg in the wye connection is balanced, so it looks like a delta connection. Unless there is some fault, the net current on ground, as seen by the substation transformer, and by the earth ground between it and the service drop, is nominally zero.