Energy rationing primarily involves measures that are designed to force

energy conservation Energy conservation is the effort to reduce wasteful energy consumption by using fewer energy services. This can be done by using energy more effectively (using less energy for continuous service) or changing one's behavior to use less service (f ...

as an alternative to

price mechanism In economics, a price mechanism is the manner in which the profits of goods or services affects the supply and demand of goods and services, principally by the price elasticity of demand. A price mechanism affects both buyer and seller who n ...

s in

energy market Energy markets are national and international regulated markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy. Typically energy developme ...

s. Because of its economic consequences energy rationing is used as method of last resort, often at times of emergency such as during an

energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...

Forms

Examples of energy

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

include fuel rationing and the use of ration books or

ration stamp A ration stamp, ration coupon or ration card is a stamp or card issued by a government to allow the holder to obtain food or other commodities that are in short supply during wartime or in other emergency situations when rationing is in for ...

s to restrict personal consumption. Energy rationing may include penalties such as surcharges and disconnection from electrical supply for those who choose not to reduce their demand voluntarily. Load shedding is a common form of energy rationing used when

electricity market In a broad sense, an electricity market is a system that facilitates the exchange of electricity-related goods and services. During more than a century of evolution of the electric power industry, the economics of the electricity markets had u ...

s cannot keep up to demand, particularly peak demand. Limited electrical supply from

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

s at times of drought or after

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

is damaged, can lead authorities to implement rationing. Brazil was forced to implement energy rationing due to drought in 2001. Reducing demand in this way aims to avoid forced

power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...

s which are more disruptive than rationing. Tradable Energy Quotas is an energy rationing system designed to enable nations to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases along with their use of oil, gas and coal, and to ensure fair access to energy for all.

Issues

One issue with energy rationing is the cost of setting up rationing schemes. Another criticism is that energy rationing schemes are unworkable and face many practical problems including consumer lawsuits. Due to the general disdain for restrictions that interfere with existing personal freedoms, such as

ecotax An environmental tax, ecotax (short for ecological taxation), or green tax is a tax levied on activities which are considered to be harmful to the environment and is intended to promote environmentally friendly activities via economic incentives. ...

es and

carbon rationing Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon makes up ...

, energy rationing is not favoured by policy makers to mitigate global warming.

Peak oil

As oil becomes more scarce due to

oil depletion Oil depletion is the decline in oil production of a well, oil field, or geographic area. The Hubbert peak theory makes predictions of production rates based on prior discovery rates and anticipated production rates. Hubbert curves predict that t ...

countries that have reserve currencies will prefer to buy oil rather than ration it. The Oil Depletion Protocol is form of energy rationing that was developed by

Richard Heinberg Richard William Heinberg is an American journalist and educator who has written extensively on energy, economic, and ecological issues, including oil depletion. He is the author of 14 books, and presently serves as the senior fellow at the Pos ...

to ensure that price rationing does not price out poorer countries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy Rationing Energy economics Electric power distribution Rationing

Forms

Issues

Peak oil

See also

References