The current global energy crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, it highlights the fragility of an old power system based on fossil fuels, geopolitical dependencies and often the precariousness and age of equipment and installations, affecting the economy, security and social stability on a national, regional and world scale. The risk of blackout thus becomes not only a technological threat, but a symbol of the need for a paradigm shift. The energy future must be sustainable, collaborative and adaptable—to guarantee not only the continuity of services with electricity, but also the stability of modern society. This paper provides an intrinsic interdisciplinary analysis on the causes, implications and possible solutions related to major imbalances in contemporary power systems, emphasizing the growing risk of blackout (large power outages). The main causes of crises are analyzed interdisciplinary, such as: insecurity in the functioning of the National Power System, terrorist attack on the National Power System, extreme weather condition, natural calamity, energy insecurity and political/military insecurity. The paper highlights the interdependence between energy infrastructure and energy security, as well as the vulnerability of power grids to cyberattacks, natural disasters and consumer pressures. In addition, socio-economic, technological and political issues are addressed, providing an integrated view of the phenomenon. Finally, national, regional and bilateral mitigation, limitation and restoration (resilience) procedures and measures are proposed in the event of an electricity crisis—blackout.

Energy security represents a fundamental pillar of economic sustainability, being defined as a state’s ability to ensure continuous, reliable, and affordable access to energy resources. In the context of recent geopolitical shifts, such as worldwide military conflicts, the vulnerabilities of energy systems have become evident, highlighting the interdependence between energy security and economic stability. Analyzing energy security involves assessing the diversification of sources, supply routes, critical infrastructure, and the degree of dependence on imports. The transition to renewable sources, in line with the objectives established by the European Union, contributes to reducing the risks associated with fossil market volatility and to strengthening economic resilience. At the same time, the integration of digital technologies and the development of storage capacities increase the flexibility of energy systems. Evaluating energy security must include indicators regarding price accessibility, environmental sustainability, and institutional capacity for crisis management. By aligning energy policies with macroeconomic and climate strategies, states can prevent major energy crises, mitigate the impact of external shocks, and ensure long-term sustainable economic development. The study highlights and brings to light Romania’s energy security situation by conducting an in-depth analysis of the Romanian Power System and assessing the most severe vulnerabilities and risks that could jeopardize the proper functioning of the system and the supply to electricity consumers. Based on these findings, various strategies for the safety, security, and resilience of the Romanian Power System have been developed.

Energy can become an instrument of geopolitical coercion when asymmetric dependencies, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and limited resilience allow energy resources, supplies, prices, technologies, or infrastructure to be strategically exploited. This study examines these mechanisms and their implications for European energy security and NATO strategic preparedness, using Romania as an eastern-flank case study. A coercion–vulnerability–resilience framework is developed by integrating geopolitical assessment, energy-dependency analysis, critical-infrastructure vulnerability, scenario analysis, and quantitative measurement constructs. The study operationalizes energy coercion through a six-stage pathway linking dependence creation, signaling, coercive action, domestic transmission effects, and negotiation. The Romanian case indicates that energy security depends not only on domestic resource availability but also on infrastructure protection, diversification, storage, system flexibility, investment implementation, cybersecurity, and regional interconnection. The composite indices presented in the study are synthetic methodological demonstrations rather than empirically estimated national scores, while the empirical analysis relies on referenced statistical, institutional, and macroeconomic evidence. The framework shows how resilience measures can reduce exploitable dependencies and strengthen Romania’s contribution to European energy security and NATO strategic preparedness.

The provoked shock in the energy system came into a moment in which climate impact is more and more visible and took several types. The rise of prices has determined economic incentives for increasing the offer and for choosing the alternative or more efficient ways to satisfy the demands. The shocks due to energetic security have created strong incentives for politic decisional factors for reducing the dependences and vulnerabilities, but in the same time for a lot of devel-oping countries, the financial resources are depleted. The last years were a period of extreme perturbation for energy sector.

The current global energy crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of the XXI century, it highlights the fragility of an old power system based on fossil fuels, geopolitical dependencies and often the precariousness and age of equipment and installations, affecting the economy, security and social stability on a national, regional and world scale. The risk of blackout thus becomes not only a technological threat, but a symbol of the need for a paradigm shift. The energy future must be sustainable, collaborative and adaptable – to guarantee not only the continuity of services with electricity, but also the stability of modern society. This paper provides an intrinsic interdisciplinary analysis on the causes, implications and possible solutions related to major imbalances in contemporary power systems, emphasizing the growing risk of blackout (large power outages). The main causes of crises are analyzed interdisciplinary, such as: insecurity in the functioning of the National Power System, terrorist attack on the National Power System, extreme weather condition, natural calamity, energy insecurity and political/military insecurity. The paper highlights the interdependence between energy infrastructure and energy security, as well as the vulnerability of power grids to cyberattacks, natural disasters and consumer pressures. In addition, socio-economic, technological and political issues are addressed, providing an integrated view of the phenomenon. Finally, national, regional and bilateral mitigation, limitation and restoration (resilience) procedures and measures are proposed in the event of an electricity crisis – blackout.

Open-pit lignite mines contain high-power converter-fed drives whose operating state strongly affects current harmonics and internal power-quality conditions. The primary objective of this study is to experimentally characterize load-dependent voltage and current harmonic regimes in an operating open-pit lignite mining electrical system and to use a simplified MATLAB/Simulink R2021b inverter-motor model only as a trend-interpretation tool. In situ measurements were obtained on the E05 SRS 1300-26/3.5 bucket-wheel excavator and associated conveyor systems. The measurements show low voltage distortion at the monitored internal points (the Total Harmonic Distortion of Voltage (THD_U) below 1.5% in the reported cases) and strongly load-dependent current distortion, including high relative the Total Harmonic Distortion of Current (THD_I) during low-current operation. The simulation reproduces selected qualitative drive-side trends but does not represent the upstream network, feeder impedances, transformer behavior, capacitor-bank interaction, or background supply distortion; it is therefore not presented as an independently validated network model. A separate Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) calculation is retained only as an illustrative resilience scenario based on an assumed four-hour duty profile and is not used as evidence for the measured harmonic findings. The main contribution is an experimentally supported case study of load-dependent harmonic behavior in an operating lignite-mine electrical system, complemented by simulation-assisted physical interpretation and clearly separated prospective modernization implications.