Václav Bartuška is a journalist and publicist. He was one of the student leaders of the Velvet Revolution. He served as Commissioner General for the Participation of the Czech Republic at the World Expo 2000 in Hannover. Today, his focus is on energy as Special Ambassador for Energy Security.
You were one of the students active in the social and economic changes in 1989. What role do you think energy self-sufficiency will play in social and economic stability?
I think society is much more concerned with energy prices than self-sufficiency right now. Suppose Russia’s relations with the West escalate even further. In that case, it may happen that Russia will stop supplying natural gas to the whole of the EU. As a consequence, we would see acute energy shortages of both electricity and heat in many countries. For the time being, we are “only” — in quotation marks — worried about prices. I stress that “only” is in quotation marks because high electricity prices can destroy social peace in this country.
Company managers are struggling with rising energy prices. You say electricity is not a standard commodity. What can the political representations here and in the EU do to stabilise the situation?
I am convinced that electricity is not a mere commodity but a public asset. I know that many managers in the energy sector may not like this; the current market arrangement is to their advantage. But the idea of a third of the country’s population falling into energy poverty should horrify any sensible politician.
The key to the solution is to see energy — not only electricity generation but also heat generation – as an area of vital national interest. Telling people, “you have to pay four times as much in electricity bills because that is what the stock market says, and if you cannot afford it, we will disconnect you” is the modern equivalent of the proverbial “let them eat cake!”.
The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU is approaching, and energy will be one of the priorities. What impact will this have on the Green Deal and the renaissance of safe nuclear energy?
We are experiencing a situation comparable to the 1973 oil shock. And the transformation of European energy will be as fundamental as that which took place in the West in the 1970s. To recap: in 1973, 25 per cent of the world’s electricity was generated by burning oil. When OPEC announced the embargo in October 1973, it was certain that it had brought the West to its knees (and the Soviet Union applauded enthusiastically). These were difficult years for Western Europe and the US: queues at the pumps, recession and economic problems. But there were major decisions and actions — mass construction of nuclear power plants (from Japan to France, from the US to Germany), switching to new fuels (natural gas), energy saving (e.g. speed limits on motorways). In the end, the West was the winner, not OPEC. Within a decade, oil’s share of world electricity production had fallen to units of per cent, and the price of oil had fallen. Incidentally, low oil prices were a key blow to the Soviet economy, which then lived on raw material exports like Russia’s economy today. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. Today’s situation is similar in many ways. For example, nce again, it is primarily a geopolitical dispute that is driving up energy prices through uncertainty and blackmail. The winners are new technologies and new sources of electricity/heat. Alongside energy saving and efficiency, it will be renewables and nuclear energy where most of the investment will be directed within the EU and the Czech Republic. I believe that nuclear energy belongs in our energy mix. We can manage — but it will not be easy.
Thank you for the interview.
