Energy Security

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ENERGY SECTOR

Topic: Energy Security

Name: Vikramaditya (M) & Shruti Kabra (F)
Institution: National Law University, Delhi & University of petroleum and energy studies, Dehradoon, respectively
Email Address: dityavikrama@gmail.com & shrutikabra.law@gmail.com
1.1 Introduction
The UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Energy Security Forum defines energy security as, “The availability of usable energy supplies, at the point of final consumption, in sufficient quantity and timeliness so that, given due regard for encouraging energy sufficiency, the economic and social development of the country is not materially constrained.”
Energy has always been important for nations, but it acquired strategic dimension when it became a source of power and domination. Energy became a security concept under two conditions. Firstly, the imperialist powers needed oil in order to fulfil their domestic demands. For which there was intense competition. Oil was important for the production of a large number of goods and commodities. Hence, securing the oil fields became important so that a constant flow of energy could be maintained. Security of the oil fields thus became a major foreign policy issue, the aim of which was not only to secure the sources of oil but also to sell products in the colonial states. Secondly, the western powers needed oil for military purposes to control the colonies. This brought the then existing imperialists powers into competition with each other. The state powers were even prepared to go for war to secure the oil fields. Energy (oil) moved to the world domain in the context of security considerations. Hence, the debate about energy actuated into security and eventually to energy security.
Energy security as a concept is intrinsically linked with energy crisis. The very security concern of nation states emanates from the degree of crisis perception of it. The Energy Crisis as a...