Cutting the Gordian Knot: Recalibrating the UK’s Energy Transition and Security Principles

The International Energy Agency (‘IEA’) defines energy security as ‘the uninterrupted availability of energy sources at an affordable price.’ We conceptualise this definition in two limbs: uninterrupted availability as ‘Limb I (Sustainability)’ and affordable prices as ‘Limb II (Affordability)’. However, in many industry and policy conversations about the UK’s energy ecosystem, energy independence is often included too (we call this ‘Limb III (Independence)’). In the UK, there is a clear and conscious decision to marry the concepts of energy security and energy independence. Consequently, the full construct of our conceptual framework for understanding the UK’s approach to energy security includes all three limbs (‘Energy Security’).

The UK needs to recalibrate its approach to Energy Security by (i) deconstructing its limbs, (ii) accepting that its constituent elements can be incompatible, and (iii) creating a coherent but malleable hierarchy that allows for balancing and trade-offs. This article written by Miguel Colebrook and Iona Gilby* argues, using the grid as a working example, that a refreshed framework for understanding energy security, which prioritises investment in domestic infrastructure and secure international partnerships and incentivises private investment, will balance the competing aims of Energy Security while streamlining the UK’s approach to the energy transition.

Read the full article on the Oxford Business Law Blog.

*Iona Gilby is a trainee solicitor in the London office.