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ABSTRACT
Germany has set ambitious targets to transform its energy system from being based on fossil fuels and nuclear to renewable energies, requiring electricity grids to be upgraded. As a result there is significant public pressure in some German cities to exert greater local control over electricity distribution infrastructure. A case study approach was used to investigate contestations around ownership and governance of Berlin’s electricity distribution grid. Actors at the local level perceive the national institutional framework supporting liberalised energy markets as not designed to adapt electricity distribution grids to the challenges of the Energiewende (energy turn) and to be instead hampering investment, innovation and the involvement of local actors. By analysing politics of grid ownership and governance, and emerging tensions between a national regulatory framework and more locally bounded energy system visions, our study contributes to the emerging academic debate on urban energy transitions.
Acknowledgements
This paper is based on a dissertation presented for the degree in 2014. Nora Rocholl would like to thank Simon Allen, University of Edinburgh, for his guidance and advice during the research process. Thank you to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful and constructive comments and a special thanks to the representatives of Berlin’s energy sector who have contributed to the research. The usual disclaimers apply.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Nora Rocholl holds an M.Sc. in Environmental Sustainability from the School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh. Since graduating she has been an Associate of the Energy and Society Research Group at the School of Social and Political Science at the University of Edinburgh. Her research interests include sustainable development and low carbon energy transitions in Germany.
Ronan Bolton is a Lecturer in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies at the University of Edinburgh. His work examines the policy, market and regulatory challenges of transforming high carbon energy systems and enabling the deployment and diffusion of low carbon technologies.
Notes
1. Unbundling describes the separation of network services (transmission and distribution) from other business units (energy generation and supply) in order to ensure non-discriminatory network access in liberalised energy markets. There are three levels to what extent unbundling is implemented. These are accounting, legal and ownership unbundling.
2. The Pirate Party has not been interviewed as part of this study but their position can be found on their website: https://www.piratenfraktion-berlin.de/fraktion/themen/wirtschaft-netz-und-infrastruktur/ (Accessed 18/11/2015).
3. The selection criteria are available at http://www.berlin.de/sen/finanzen/vermoegen/downloads/konzessionsverfahren-strom/zweiter_verfahrensbrief_strom.pdf (Accessed 18/11/2015).
4. §1(1) EnWG – The purpose of the law is to ensure a secure, cost-effective, consumer friendly, efficient and environmentally friendly grid-based electricity and gas provision for the general public which is increasingly based on renewable energies.
5. Source: http://www.rbb-online.de/politik/beitrag/2014/10/stromnetzvergabe-jetzt-auch-offiziell-verschoben.html (Accessed 06/10/2015).
6. Source: http://www.buerger-energie-berlin.de/blog/aktuell-rolle-ruckwarts-im-strom-verfahren (Accessed 06/10/2015).