The cyber-transition of the electricity sector and V-4 energy cooperation

Abstract

With our societies undergoing an energy transition which favours increased electrification over the use of fossil fuels, electric grid governance may in the future be of greater importance than traditional pipeline politics. Parallel to the energy transition, critical infrastructure is witnessing a process of digitalisation, opening up a range of new security threats as illustrated by the 2015 hack of the Ukrainian electricity grid. This research uses a socio- technical approach to highlight the relationship between technology and politics at the nexus of energy- and cybersecurity. By using the concept of imaginaries as an analytical framework, the effects of the cyber-transition in the electricity sector on V-4 energy cooperation are studied. Finally, this paper will argue that international political discourse surrounding the energy sector is still dominated by traditional energy security concerns, rather than incorporating newly emerging threats thereby emphasizing the role of politics over technology.