Background: Electric Power System its Drivers and Major Trends

Abstract

Modern society is unimaginable without energy. Yet, what does exactly energy mean? What is the role energy plays? The general concept of energy goes beyond the social sciences. Energy is a physical phenomenon with an obscure concept for laypersons. In physics energy is “the capacity of a physical system to do work”. More broadly we can define energy as “the potential for causing a change in matter” or as “what must be supplied or removed from a material system to transform or displace it” (Debeir et. al 1991: 2). Yet, beyond definitions we can perceive that energy is ubiquitous and intuitively know that without it the modern lifestyle would be impossible. It is crucial to keep in mind that importance of energy in today’s world is given by the services it makes possible to provide: lighting, heating and cooling, water, food, pumping, refrigeration, transportation and communication (WEHAB Working Group 2002).