The Security of the United Kingdom Electricity Imports under Conditions of High European Demand

Energy policy in Europe has been driven by the three goals of security of supply, economic competitiveness and environmental sustainability, referred to as the energy trilemma. Although there are clear conflicts within the trilemma, member countries have acted to facilitate a fully integrated European electricity market. Interconnection and cross-border electricity trade has been a fundamental part of such market liberalisation. However, it has been suggested that consumers are exposed to a higher price volatility as a consequence of interconnection. Furthermore, during times of energy shortages and high demand, issues of national sovereignty take precedence over cooperation. In this article, the unique and somewhat peculiar conditions of early 2017 within France, Germany and the United Kingdom have been studied to understand how the existing integration arrangements address the energy trilemma. It is concluded that the dominant interests are economic and national security; issues of environmental sustainability are neglected or overridden. Although the optimisation of European electricity generation to achieve a lower overall carbon emission is possible, such a goal is far from being realised. Furthermore, it is apparent that the United Kingdom, and other countries, cannot rely upon imports from other countries during periods of high demand and/or limited supply.