Energy security has always been in news and the recent military conflict between Russia and Ukraine has led to a global energy crisis.
WHAT IS ENERGY SECURITY?
In simplest term, energy security is defined as availability, accessibility, and affordability of modern form of energy to every citizen at all times.
Energy Availability: A country must strive to ensure the country has reliable sources of the energy for the present and near future. Country tries to import crude oil, coal, gas or relies on its own resources for ensuring the availability of the sufficient energy sources.
Energy Accessibility: A country must strive to overcome the hurdle of the energy accessibility by sufficiently investing in Technology, Infrastructure, and Research and Development.
Technology part ensure the scientific advancement and industries to harness the reliable consistent energy from the raw energy sources, e.g., power plants to ensure generation of electricity, refineries to provide end-user petroleum products.
Infrastructure part ensures the modern form of energy reaches to every citizen. Sufficient transmission network across the country to reach every part of the country, sufficient rail-road connectivity to ensure the transport and distribution of the crude-oil or oil.
Research & Development part of the accessibility ensures the country is sufficiently equipped with the technology and is consistently investing in the future sources and technologies relevant for the energy field.
Energy Affordability: Affordability dimensions ensure the modern form of the energy is accessible to the lowest rungs of the society at an affordable price. Some country even provides subsidy for keeping the electricity (major source of energy), and some provides relief to poor through different interventions.
The below statement by Indian Oil Minister, Shri Hardeep Singh Puri says how India avoided the worst ever global energy crisis since 1970s by using a four-pronged strategy.
Two prime reasons that lead to present global energy crisis.
The world is witnessing the worst energy crisis since 1973 due to multiple reasons including rapid economic rebound after the pandemic, Russia-Ukraine conflict, conflicting interests of the nation, and many more reasons.
Rapid economic rebound after pandemic: COVID-19 bought an abrupt halt to the sectors of economic. When the world started getting back to the normal activities after the pandemic has settled down and the vaccination across the nation was over, the extraordinary rate of recovery was not anticipated. The demand of the energy put a pressure on the supply side constraints, where the supply chain was yet to rebound.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict: Russia is the largest supplier of the fossil fuels, mostly natural gas. Most of the demands of the European nation was dependent on Russia, after the invasion of Ukraine, this nation expressed their intention to phase-out dependence on Russian supply. But this is easier said than done. Increased sanctions on Russia, has forced it to look for new consumer of it in the Asia and other nations.
The above article has two key takeways:
1. Providing a basic framework on what it is energy security
2. Two prime reasons for the present global energy crisis.
The following infographic represents the key facts of the above article.
Author: Pankaj Prasad.
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informative piece .In India more than Russia- Ukraine war I believe , our own central- state governments warfare is more damaging. If you check the PGCIL,Transmission, distribution, costs are 40% of Cost of service to Consumers. It is an inverse pyramid economics. in the supply chain from generation to consumers, PGCIL & Transmission companies are over charging and passing the cost as “ a pass through “ to the we hapless consumers. The free power philandering is making the state DISCOMS to bankruptcy , regulatory commission are toothless to enforce. The state governments are promising subsidies but not paying the DISCOMS for free power, it’s in debT to pay Rs 20000 crores in 18 mts in Andhra Pradesh. .