“Civilization has broken down, and there is the most absolute derangement of a great part of our affairs,” wrote Frank A. Vanderlip, President of National City Bank, on August 4, 1914. World War I had just begun. Great Britain, France, and Russia (the Entente) were on one side with Germany and Austria-Hungary (the Central Powers) on the other. The major stock markets had stopped functioning. International business and international finance were in total disarray.

The war was a turning point in the evolution of global electrification. Even though the United States did not enter the war until April 1917, the country, its businesses, and its banks were immediately affected. From 1914 to the armistice in 1918 (and the German acknowledgment of defeat), many changes had profound consequences for globalization and for the role of multinational enterprises and international finance in the electrification sector. This introduction briefly lists the key changes, taking the story line to roughly 1923–1925, when, as the problems germane to the immediate postwar years seemed to be straightened out, ambitious plans could – and did – unfold.

1. During the war years, everywhere a new nationalism arose, and with it increased government intervention, including in the electricity supply industry. Government spending soared as the nations at war needed to finance their military forces. Taxes mounted and for the first time started to impact the organization and plans of modern business. War brought government-induced restrictions on trade and international capital movements. Britain suspended the gold standard, as did most other countries (whether the United States did is controversial). The precedent for later large governmental participation in economies was set.

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