Rural electrification in Sweden : a comparison

Abstract

The Swedish history of rural electrification tells of an initially dark landscape where scattered patches of light increased gradually in number and scale across the elongated country.2 It was a diverse process that was neither a matter of central initiatives nor of spread from centre to periphery. Major parts of the history took place between the early and middle parts of the twentieth century, when most rural households were supplied with electricity, although the supplies were often insufficient and unreliable. This period is also the centre of attention in this chapter, which chiefly focuses on the early 1920s to 1950 and consequently omits any discussion of the following decades, when improvements were made to provide sufficient and reliable access to the new energy source.

Keywords

Electrification, Countryside, Sweden, Female work, Farming, Agriculture

Published in

Rural Worlds: Economic, Social and Cultural Histories of Agricultures and Rural Societies
2016, pages: 157-177
Title: Transforming the countryside: the electrification of rural Britain
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Inc.

SLU Authors

• Martiin, Carin

  • Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Other Agricultural Sciences not elsewhere specified

Publication identifier

• ISBN: 978-1-4724-4127-0
• eISBN: 978-1-315-55006-0

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/79676