The cure for the hard core: the evolution of planning doctrines and organizational unbundling in the Stockholm regional energy system

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis paper analyses re-organization of district heating (DH) systems in the Stockholm region from the perspective of planning doctrines. It is argued that a regional doctrine emerged with the ‘spatial organization principle’ focusing on reducing the pressure on the city centre through suburbanization. The different infrastructure systems, especially transport systems, were an important part in implementing the doctrine, but as shown in the paper, energy systems and especially DH systems developed in accordance with the spatial organization principle were influenced by the doctrine. A regional energy company, STOSEB, was established, and from 1978 to 2003, it worked to create cooperation among the municipalities and energy companies. The doctrine was eventually weakened and modified, as the strategies of the organizational principle were actually implemented and focus shifted towards other issues. The regional energy cooperation was discontinued, as the deregulation of the electricity market led to privatization and new business logics of several energy companies.