Methodology for Assessing the Level of Electricity Self-Sufficiency in European Union Countries

Abstract

The modern global geopolitical transformations fueled by the armed conflict in Ukraine have greatly affected the countries of the European Union. Energy has become one of the biggest economic problems. The main objective of this study is to develop a methodology for assessing the level of electricity self-sufficiency in European Union member states. The author’s methodology is based on estimating the volume of exports and imports of electricity in relation to the amount of energy produced in individual EU countries. This approach makes it possible to determine the limits of effective electricity policy and distinguish the necessary changes and directions of action in the development of the energy sector at national and EU levels. The approval of the author’s methodology, carried out on the example of Croatia, made it possible to determine the current state of the country’s electricity system and the level of its security, and to distinguish the boundaries of the country’s effective electricity policy—the “triangle of effective policy”.