Myrskyjä ei voi hallita

Haavoittuvuuden poliittinen talous

Abstract

A powerful winter storm hit central Sweden and southern Finland at Christmas time 2011. Storms of that
magnitude cause electricity outages that disturb everyday life in many ways. Modern societies are vulnerable
to such storms because of their dependence on the supply of electricity. The issue of electricity supply
is different for Finland and Sweden, as the two countries have different political and economic contexts
and have made different decisions with regard to the issue. In Sweden, companies have invested in the
cabling of electric wires since 2005, whereas in Finland cabling is just getting underway, accompanied by
intensive debate on how to cover the costs. Although the 2011 storm did not reach Lapland, the article
shows that demographic, geographic and administrative structures and resources matter when it comes to
the vulnerability of the region. Lapland is sparsely populated, with thin service structures, rescue services
that are heavily reliant on volunteers, and an aging population, making vulnerability quite a different issue
than in densely populated urban centres in the South. The article is based on documents, interviews and
newspaper articles which have been analysed and mapped using situational analysis, a method developed
by Adele Clarke.