Urban governance and the transition of energy systems: Institutional change and shifting energy and climate policies in Berlin

Energy systems in Germany and in all western OECD countries are currently undergoing transformations that have profound implications for their urban and regional governance, as well as for regional development in general. New technologies, regulatory regimes, management styles, marketing strategies and environmental priorities have emerged, dramatically reconfiguring patterns of governance within cities and regions. This is particularly obvious in the city region of Berlin, where utility restructuring coincides with a dramatic fiscal crisis in the city. The privatization of the energy utilities and of many public services, the opening of the regional energy markets, public and private climate protection initiatives and the emergence of new market participants are radically changing the conditions of regional governance and energy planning. However, although substantial recasting of policy issues and traditional forms of governance in the energy sector is underway in Berlin, energy management is confronted with severe institutional problems of interpolicy coordination and regional cooperation, entrepreneurial governance and contract management. Thus, this article argues in favour of new policy approaches and institutional reforms to shape the development of energy networks according to local and regional sustainability needs.