Abstract
More than 150 municipal utilities (so-called Stadtwerke) were established in Germany from the beginning of the millennium, bringing the total number of Stadtwerke currently established within the country to approximately 900. With responsibility for more than half of the supply of electricity, gas and heat in Germany, these Stadtwerke play a central role in the transformation of the energy sector, or Energiewende. In addition, due to their local and regional ties, Stadtwerke have a particular role to play in energy politics, the economy and across society. This article focuses on the motives behind, and grounds for, the current wave of newly established Stadtwerke. Further, it discusses the factors that were critical to the successful formation of new Stadtwerke in recent years. The results of our survey indicate that the establishment of municipal Stadtwerke is a suitable measure to implement the energy transition at the local level, whereby the concept of public value has a high level of importance for the local decision-makers. Collaboration and cooperation, as well as a resilience-oriented strategy, are important success factors for new Stadtwerke.
Highlights
Mitigating climate change requires a fundamental and rapid transition in the way electricity is generated
key performance indicators (KPIs) (e.g., Earnings Before Interest and Taxes (EBIT), Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA), Return on Capital Employed (ROCE), Return on Investment (ROI), etc.), subjective success measures reflect the perception of top management on the performance of its company
In relation to economic performance indicators, the results of our survey indicated that customer numbers and revenue growth were considered by Stadtwerke as of equal importance to earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)
Summary
Mitigating climate change requires a fundamental and rapid transition in the way electricity is generated. While the global electricity sector with its conventional and climatedamaging power generation is dominated by large incumbent utility companies, local players, such as municipal utilities (e.g., German Stadtwerke), community and cooperative renewable energy (co)producers, are becoming increasingly important [1,2]. As the incumbents have historically been slow to embrace change [3], initiatives are increasingly taking place at the local level with the intention of accelerating the needed energy transition to mitigate climate change [4]. Technical developments in decentralised renewables, sector coupling, storage technologies, electric mobility and heat pumps offer opportunities, especially for smaller players, to actively participate in the energy value chain [6,7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
