This paper examines the logical and conceptual implications of understanding energy security primarily through the electricity sector. The nature of risks and threats present in this sector differs significantly from those that we know from energy resource trade – the usual synecdoche for energy, that is oil, as well as the politically popular natural gas. The electricity sector is characterized by high complexity, as the materiality of the grid, generation capacity, storage, and consumption creates a system which is increasingly difficult to grasp even by experts and requires computer-based support. It is also omnipresent, meaning that energy security in electricity has to draw on the concept of human security, because it is nested in the individual. Furthermore, the realization of a threat, the moment when threat becomes reality, in case of electricity is next to instantaneous and the frontier between threat and damage is very thin. While more long-term stress-like threats area also conceivable, it is the peculiarity of the former shocks that makes electricity unique and calls for a special conceptualization, which should have an impact on the way we understand energy security in the policy process. The paper supports these conceptual notes with empirical examples taken from a research project which studies the securitization of different energy resources and sub-sectors, including renewables, nuclear and electricity interconnectors.
