Blackout risk spooks Switzerland

Powerful: The Swiss town of Laufenburg has a switching substation that has ensured stable supply of power for Switzerland and the rest of Europe.

ZURICH: The small Swiss town of Laufenburg has been a symbol of Europe’s integrated electricity network ever since the grids of Switzerland, Germany and France were linked there in 1958.

For more than 60 years, “the Star of Laufenburg, ” as the switching substation is called, has helped ensure a stable supply of power for Switzerland and the rest of Europe as power consumption soared in the post-World War II era.