Question: I'm working on a science fiction story in which electricity had been wiped out from earth. I need, though, to sort out how it happened.

What I look for

* Humanity can no longer use electricity as we do nowadays.
* It might be possible to develop a new way to simulate what we do nowadays with electricity, but it'd take at least 50 years.
* There is no problem if lightnings or other "natural electricity" still happen.

EDIT: There's no problem here if the answer requires technologies not yet developed.

As an example of a possible answer, there's the explanation given in the series Revolution, even though I feel that would still need some development.

**Spoiler alert**

> 
> There, the Blackout happend due to Nanites, a nanobot, the size of a virus, that does two things: Absorb electricity and replicate.
> 
> 
>

Answer: 
In the *Council Wars* series, Eric Flint introduces *Mother*, a super-AI [with ubiquitous sensors](http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200311/0743471644___0.htm) and effectors1 capable of absorbing remotely most sources of energy.

So, low voltages are okay, but as soon as a voltage reaches a given threshold, *zzzzt* it disappears into whatever higher dimension *Mother* reaches out of. The same happens with bombs, extreme heat and even powerful enough spring coils.

This setup would be ideal for your purposes.

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(1) never called *that*, but the behaviour is indistinguishable from the Culture's effectors.
a very powerful solar pulse from solar flare could destroy power lines which would destroy the average person's access to electricity. Stuff like cell phones and computers would be unaffected but without any way to charge them it wouldn't last long.

Several nuclear weapons detonated high up in the earths atmosphere could create a series of electromagnetic pulses that would destroy most electronic machines throughout the world

Or maybe some sort of futuristic nanite weapon release into our atmosphere designed to destroy electronic machines.