The first two chapters of this book both opened by examining exceptional circumstances in Italy. In each case, Italy's electricity supply was under threat. International solutions were sought to overcome “local” problems in 1921 as well as in 2003. In the first case, collaboration with French and Swiss electricity producers ensured that Italy's North remained provided with sufficient electricity. Engineers seized upon the event to argue for more international cooperation, by building more international interconnections and liberalizing legislation in order to allow more cross-border electricity flows. Their rationale was that it would enable mutual assistance in cases like in 1921, which in turn would increase system reliability. It also opened perspectives for improving economic mix by interconnecting different types of plants.

An extensive interconnected network existed in 2003. In addition to national systems, a well-integrated European system had been developed. But the “goodwill” between countries, which was used to describe the spirit in 1921, seemed to have vanished. As transmission lines were damaged, neighboring countries decided to isolate Italy from the interconnected operation in order to prevent problems in their respective countries – rather than coming to Italy's aid. The result was the largest blackout in Italian history.

That loss of solidarity can be related to reforms initiated by the EU, whereby “goodwill” was replaced by competition. The European Commission sees a “truly competitive single European electricity network as the way to bring down prices, improve security of supply and boost competitiveness”. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy market liberalization has on the one hand led to reduced overcapacity, improved overall system efficiency, and often led to falling prices. On the other, however, IEA reckons that market reform “has fundamentally altered the underlying drivers for sound governance and weakened previous arrangements for maintaining effective transmission system security”. To strengthen these arrangements, ironically, the European Commission has proposed to develop a mechanism “to prepare for and ensure rapid solidarity and possible assistance to a country facing difficulties following damage to its essential infrastructure”.