Energy security in a risk society

Abstract

The article addresses issues related to energy security in the context of the functioning of risk so-ciety. The emphasis is put on the issues related to energy security which become significant in the face of new threats resulting from the common presence of risk in today’s society and economy. That is why the phenomenon of global risk is analysed as well as the essence and determinants of energy security. The data showing the demand for energy in recent years and the forecasts for the following years are presented, with particular emphasis on renewable energy sources. It is indicated that, together with the growing demand for energy, problems concerning protection of the natural environment have also become more visible. Security threats are discussed, including blackouts, in-terruptions in the supply of energy resources, breakdowns, cyber attacks. The essence of prosumer power engineering (as the activity which contributes to environmental protection) as well as the benefits and threats related to this phenomenon are discussed. Analytic-synthetic and statistical methods, based on data from the International Energy Agency, are applied.