Abstract: A pedestal heating system provided for heating a pedestal disposed in the processing chamber of a substrate processing system. A pedestal heating system according to the present invention includes: a heater power supply, a transformer, coupled to the heater power supply, a heater element coupled to the transformer, and an RF ground electrode. The transformer is configured to reduce leakage current from the heater element to various elements of the substrate processing system by localizing current leakage loops. The heater element and RF ground electrode are disposed within the pedestal. Preferably, the transformer is simply an isolation transformer.