ELECTRICITY SECURITY: MODELS AND METHODS FOR SUPPORTING THE POLICY DECISION MAKING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

Energy is crucial for the mankind and is central to nearly every major European and world's challenge, be it related to security, climate change, food, welfare or employment. Energy must be provided when and where individuals and societies require it, in the amount needed and according to certain minimum criteria and standards. Failing to do so would result in serious hazards to the European society and economy. For these reasons, energy security - which regards the capability to deliver energy to the users - represents a crucial concern for policy decision making at all geographical levels. This work aims to contribute at bringing together scientific analyses and policy making in the power system security field. This is mainly done via: a revised taxonomy of energy and electricity security properties, a critical review of models and methodologies for electricity security analyses and a novel decision-analytic framework for electricity security. Aspects for the practical application of the framework at national (Italian), regional (Baltic) and EU scales are analysed and discussed.