Although the most visible activities related to Smart Grid have taken place over the last few years, through a series of blackouts and other disruptions, its origins reach back almost half a century. Prior to the Great Depression and World War II, electricity had a much more marginal place in society - our lifestyle wasn't necessarily centred on its availability and in fact, some parts of the country still did not have access to electric power. However, in the prosperous years following the war, many new electrical ‘conveniences' were introduced that suddenly increased the demands of the grid and our reliance upon it. Therefore, when a spike in demand hit the grid in November of 1965, its weaknesses were exposed and the lights went out.