Local Energy Advising in Sweden: Historical Development and Lessons for Future Policy-Making

Are E. Kjeang, Jenny Palm and G. Venkatesh
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Are E. Kjeang: Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden
Jenny Palm: International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE), Lund University, P.O. Box 196, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
G. Venkatesh: Department of Engineering and Chemical Sciences, Karlstad University, SE-651 88 Karlstad, Sweden

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-13

Abstract: In Sweden, energy-consulting services, here referred to as local energy advising (LEA), have traditionally contributed to improving household energy efficiency. The aim of this article is to analyze the development of this service from the 1970s, when the consultancy came into being, to the present day, through a review of documents and published literature. The analysis enables the understanding of the evolution of local energy advising as a policy instrument, and provides valuable insights for the future. Local energy advising has often been subsidized by the Swedish government and used as a state policy measure rather than a municipal one. As a policy measure, the function of the service has changed over time. In the early period, the oil crisis was a fact and the local advisers were used to inform households. In the 1980s, however, the task of energy-advising was taken over by the energy companies in the spirit of market liberalization. In the 1990s, Sweden became a member of the European Union, and the emphasis was put on general information campaigns. Recently, the development of decentralized energy systems (including micro-energy systems) has necessitated targeting individuals with information. One important lesson to learn from the historical development of LEA is the imperativeness of providing energy advising at the local rather than the state level for better efficiency.

Keywords: energy efficiency; households; information; policy measures; public energy advising (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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