An Energy Community for Territorial Resilience: Measurement of the Risk of an Energy Supply Blackout

The Clean Energy Package is aimed at making the energy transition recommended by the European Union more competitive. Such an energy transition can be achieved through a variety of measures aimed at improving the security, sustainability and competitiveness of energy supply systems. These measures include the introduction of physical and regulatory infrastructures that are adequate to satisfy the energy market requirements, integrate renewable energies and ensure security of the energy supply. A risk-based approach is generally suggested for the electricity sector to prevent and manage electricity problems. A risk-based methodology is proposed in this work, and an assessment has been made of the first “oil free zone” in North-West of Italy, which is located in the Pinerolo area (near Turin). A quantitative risk analysis method was conducted considering the risk of blackouts on the national electricity grid, the probability of such occurrences, the extent of damage and the risk of exposure. The risk assessment was applied through a place-based approach, considering different types of stakeholders: private and public consumers, producers and prosumers. The risks of the analysed case study were then compared with their tolerability limits and assessed for different scenarios to reduce the risk of energy supply blackouts, including: a reduced energy consumption, an increased energy production, and an optimised energy supply and demand. The possibility of establishing an energy community was considered in the latter scenario. The results show that all the actions taken to reduce the risk of energy supply blackouts produce different results, depending on the considered user. All the stakeholders can benefit from participation in the energy community, not only from an environmental point of view, through the production of energy from renewable sources, but also from an economic one. These results are in line with what the European Community and the Italian “Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate” currently require, in terms of energy transition, pertaining to the sustainable development of a territory.