In Australia in 2018, barring the consequences of extreme weather events or equipment malfunctions, the light always comes on when you flick the switch. Your PC or Mac always fires up when you want to check your emails or do some writing. Electricity is always there when you want it and in the quantity you want.

In New South Wales (NSW) between 1946 and 1953, a reliable supply of electricity was not normal. Restrictions on the use of electricity were government mandated and blackouts were not one-off events.  Rather for those seven years, they were unannounced, some of short duration, others for many hours, some many times a day.

The failure of the NSW electricity system to meet demand had arisen from a variety of causes. A fragmented industry, ageing equipment, delays in new equipment procurement and construction, poor quality coal, inadequate maintenance, timid political policies and a large rate of increase in postwar demand

This presentation examines the social, political and technical background to the reliability of supply problem and suggests that the statewide electricity network interconnection was at the centre of the solution, as it is at the core of the National Electricity Market of the 21^st century.