PROOF The Making of Europe’s Critical Infrastructure Common Connections and Shared Vulnerabilities Edited by Per Högselius KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden Anique Hommels Maastricht University, The Netherlands Arne Kaijser KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden and Erik van der Vleuten Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands October18,2013 17:34 MAC/THEC Page-iii 9781137358721_01_previii This file is to be used only for a purpose specified by Palgrave Macmillan, such as checking proofs, preparing an index, reviewing, endorsing or planning coursework/other institutional needs. You may store and print the file and share it with others helping you with the specified purpose, but under no circumstances may the file be distributed or otherwise made accessible to any other third parties without the express prior permission of Palgrave Macmillan. Please contact
[email protected] if you have any queries regarding use of the file. PROOF 3 Inventing Electrical Europe: Interdependencies, Borders, Vulnerabilities Vincent Lagendijk and Erik van der Vleuten Prologue: Contours of a critical event November 4, 2006, late Saturday evening. German electric power transmission sys- tem operator E.ON Netz disconnects an extra-high voltage line over the Ems River at the request of a northern German shipyard. This should allow the large cruise ship Norwegian Pearl to pass safely from the yard to the North Sea. Other power lines are supposed to take over the duties of the disconnected line as usual in this routine operation. This evening is different, however. When E.ON Netz switches off the line the burden on other lines in the network increases, as expected.