Archives:Fighting for Lighting and Cooking: Competing Energy Systems in Sweden, 1880-1960

Abstract

The introduction of new, high-value energy carriers into an energy market has generally given rise to a phase of intensive competition between traditional and new energy systems. This article focuses on two such competitions in Sweden: for the lighting and cooking markets. The author argues that the competitiveness of an energy system is dependent on one or several of the following means of competition ("the four p's"): technical performance, pricing, propaganda, and political pressure. In addition, the author discusses the fundamental difference between two kinds of energy systems: grid-based and non-grid-based systems.

Citation and Link to Full Article

Arne Kaijser, "Fighting for Lighting and Cooking: Competing Energy Systems in Sweden, 1880-1960," in Technological Competitiveness: Contemporary and Historical Perspectives on Electrical, Electronics, and Computer Industries (Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1993), 195-207. 

Fighting for Lighting and Cooking: Competing Energy Systems in Sweden, 1880-1960 (pdf)