Globalization has caused a surge in transnational economic networks, that can also be observed in the area of electricity. Driven by economic interests and the need to transition to a renewable energy system, many countries intensify cooperation and link their electricity grids through cross-border connections. Yet the physical integration of electricity networks can have repercussions for interstate relations. This is because some actors use asymmetries within the network structure to coerce others.
The project Network Power in Electricity Systems (NePElS) will study the domestic security challenges that can arise from the integration of electricity networks in Europe. We intend to show how the physical integration of grid infrastructure between the EU and third countries (notably Switzerland and the UK post-Brexit) has undermined the latter’s quest for regulatory autonomy. This is because key functions of joint-network governance have become centralized under EU control. Opposition by third countries through regulatory non-cooperation entails severe disadvantages for their energy security and the timely achievement of the energy transition. In this project, we plan to investigate these patterns of influence and seek to generate a more systematic understanding how structural asymmetries in networks enable the exercise of power through coercion.
Research will be conducted by Senior Research Fellow and Project Director Energy Governance, Assistant Professor Philipp Thaler.