The red brick building with its gray cooling towers in Malmö’s northern harbor symbolizes Sweden’s preparation for an uncertain future. Once planned to be dismantled and transferred abroad, the decommissioned power plant known as Juutinrauma was reassessed due to Sweden’s changing defense policy and security concerns.
Sweden, with a population of 10 million, has been on alert since Russia annexed Crimea ten years ago. Now, with a Russian president who has become increasingly daring as a neighbor Vladimir Putin, the country is preparing for the possibility of conflict spreading through the Baltics. This is why the Swedish grid operator wants to return the Juutinrauma power plant located in Malmö to operational readiness. The power plant manager, Mikael Nilsson, hopes that they won’t have to start it up but acknowledges that they must be prepared for any eventuality.
When the Cold War ended, Sweden believed in the permanence of peace and reduced its armed forces. However, now they must strengthen their civilian infrastructure, including ports, roads, railways, hospitals and shelters. Sweden’s geographical location makes its energy supply particularly vulnerable. Its electricity grid is more susceptible to sabotage than many other European countries due to its proximity to Russia. Vera van Zoest, an assistant professor at the Swedish National Defense University mentions Ukraine as an example of how Russian strikes can cause malfunctions in power plants and leave cities without water and heat during harsh winters.
The challenges are not unique to Sweden though; President Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission says other countries should follow Finland’s example of building and maintaining a strong civil defense system and teaching citizens how to act during a national emergency. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has already noted it saying “We have learned a lot from the events in Ukraine for very sad reasons.”
