This book reviews the role of the state and its commitments in the Norwegian electricity sector, beginning with the very first state purchases of waterfalls in the 1890s. The account continues with the state-led expansion during the years before World War 1, the retraction in the 1920s and 30s and the new wave of more robust expansion that started after WW2. The post-90s phase of economic liberalization takes the story up to the present day. With references and index.