Essay of the Winner of the Contest, Oleksandr Bulin
The modern encyclopaedia defines energy security as the state of the electric power industry, which guarantees the technically and economically safe satisfaction of consumers’ current and prospective energy needs. So, energy security means confidence in the future. It is when I go to bed and know that it makes sense to get up for work tomorrow because there will be electricity in the sockets to start it. When a mother of three children can schedule laundry for the weekend, she knows there is always water in the tap because the pumps directing it through the central pipeline work without interruption. Energy security is when businesses can work; investors invest money in the Ukrainian economy because they know that the lack of fuel or interruptions in the power grid will not hinder their business.
As you can see, strong energy security is vital for everyone in Ukraine. All Ukrainians remember the days of the fall and winter of 2022-2023 when we were without electricity for several days due to enemy shelling. Everyone remembers the spring and summer of 2022, spent by many in queues for fuel, with 20 litres per person allowed.
Energy weakness annihilates our daily life, inevitably mutilated by war. Moreover, it threatens national security because problems in the energy sector involve many others. Unfortunately, during the years of its independence, Ukraine was unable to build strong energy security. Even during Yushchenko’s presidency, when the state made an apparent turn to the West, Russia began energy blackmail. So, it is unsurprising that I have been aware since early childhood that my country is in a permanent energy crisis.
Now, the main threat to the Ukrainian energy industry is its physical destruction. The Russians are shelling our power plants, destroying hydroelectric power stations, keeping Zaporizhzhya NPP under occupation, and blackmailing the world with a nuclear disaster.