A three‐electrode spark gap which can handle high energy (96 kJ) has been designed and used with a 384‐kJ capacitor bank having an operating range from 30 to 60 kV. The gap jitter time has been reduced to less than 25 nsec. During &thgr;‐pinch experiments involving 3000 discharges of the bank, there has been no significant deterioration of the gaps or variation of the electrical characteristics of the system.