A Review of Methods for Energy Security Research. Indicative Analysis

In order to effectively model modern energy systems and the energy sector, it is essential to evaluate the existing body of research on this subject across a variety of entities ranging from localized to large-scale energy systems. Within the framework of the study on fuel and energy supply reliability and energy security, it is most interesting to consider and analyze the works modeling the interlinked operation of large energy systems in order to determine the indicators of energy security and reliability of fuel and energy supply to the consumer. The paper aims to examine various strategies for assessing the energy security through indicative analysis. To achieve the goal, several modern studies on the given topic were selected to make a constructive analysis on the efficiency and accuracy of the energy security assessment. The paper presents a review of existing approaches to assessing the level of energy security based on indicative analysis. National and international practices of applying indicators that reflect the level of energy security for various entities from regions to interstate associations are analyzed. The study notes that the indicative analysis is the most common and simple method for analyzing energy security. The analysis provides quantitative values of the energy security level and further, following the comparison of the obtained values of indicators with normative ones, qualitative conclusions are drawn. The main advantage of this method is that it yields numerical values of indicators, making it easy for decision makers to interpret them and track the dynamics of the energy sector development, identifying priority areas for modernization and advancement. The primary drawback of this approach to assessing the energy security level is its often superficial analysis, which fails to foster in-depth conclusions regarding operational conditions of energy systems.