A conceptual design is presented for a fault-current limiter for the electrical power utilities which utilizes a superconducting element to commutate the fault current into a shunt resistor. The technical feasibility of the concept is supported by a computer simulation of the switching. A three-phase 145-kV 2-kA electrical system is considered in detail for ease of comparison with other fault-current limiters. Finally, the important advantages of such a fault-current limiter are pointed out, and the areas of additional research for the immediate future are indicated.