Maybe the Swiss can pull it off, but it's completely unrealistic for the rest of the first world.
Why? When an area is ideal for solar collection (deserts, mountains), small communal collectors could easily be installed and maintained for a low fee.
By converting to 12VDC, excess power could be stored in batteries in individual homes, for nighttime use. If this were supplemented with wind and hydro-power, there is no reason why we need to lose 6+ % of power due to transport and distribution.
The problem of large scale networking is voltage drop. As excess power is not sequestered, millions of amperes are lost by transport via cables, especially during times of low usage. Moreover, in this time of sabotage, locally protected generating systems allow for greater protection.
In addition, many electronic communicating devices could be powered and charged with "personal" light converters.
The main problem lies in the conversion phase.
Transmission and distribution losses in the USA were estimated at 6.6% in 1997[11] and 6.5% in 2007.[11] By using underground DC transmission, these losses can be cut in half.[citation needed] Underground cables can be larger diameter because they do not have the constraint of light weight that overhead conductors have. In general, losses are estimated from the discrepancy between power produced (as reported by power plants) and power sold to the end customers; the difference between what is produced and what is consumed constitute transmission and distribution losses, assuming no theft of utility occurs.