The Incumbents’ Conservation Strategies in the German Energy Regime as an Impediment to Re-Municipalization—An Analysis Guided by the Multi-Level Perspective

Kurt Berlo, Oliver Wagner and Marisa Heenen
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Kurt Berlo: Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy, Döppersberg 19, Wuppertal 42103, Germany
Oliver Wagner: Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment, Energy, Döppersberg 19, Wuppertal 42103, Germany
Marisa Heenen: Department for International Development Studies, Philipps-University of Marburg, Biegenstraße 10, 35037 Marburg, Germany

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: After two decades of privatization and outsourcing being the dominant trends across public services, an inclination towards founding new municipal power utilities can be observed. In this article, the authors examine the preservation strategies of the German energy regime following the transition approach developed by Geels. From the multi-level perspective, it can be stated that innovations take place in niches and have to overcome the obstacles and persistence of the conventional fossil–nuclear energy regime. Through an empirical analysis, it can be concluded that the established regime significantly delays the decentralization process required for a transformation of energy structures on local electricity grids. Furthermore, it is shown that municipal utilities (Stadtwerke) are important key actors for the German Energiewende (energy transition) as they function as local energy distributors and they meet a variety of requirements to promote fundamental structural change. The trend towards re-municipalization and the re-establishment of municipal utilities reveal the desire to further strengthen the scope of local politics.

Keywords: transition research; energy transition; re-municipalization; municipal utilities; local politics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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