A modernized electric network for the future needs of Hamburg

Among the ``city-states´´ in the Federal Republic of Germany, the plight of Hamburg¿with respect to its electrical needs¿is, if not typical, then representative of conditions that exist in other cities in the republic. To meet the growing electric needs of the populace, a Hamburg electric utility has devised a system that will take full advantage of existing services incorporated into a new ``broader backbone.´´ Plans call for sufficient redundancy to permit operation at all levels with a minimum of downtime. At no time will interruption last more than one hour; most often it will amount to only minutes or seconds. As the need arises, the system will grow and grow¿hopefully not outstripping its potential until the turn of the century.