Makten över energin policyprocesser i två kommuner 1977–2001

Sammanfattning: Municipalities have traditionally played key roles in the Swedish energy system as suppliers of gas, electricity and district heating to the public sector and end-use consumers. Sweden has a tradition of strong local self-government, and the municipalities are expected to play important roles in implementing national energy strategies and formulating municipal ones.The purpose of this thesis is to study how power was exercised in the policy processes of two municipal energy systems between 1977 to 2001. The specific research questions were as follows: How did actors exercise power in the policy process? What sort of power resources did policy coalitions have access to? How did policy coalitions act to enforce their demands? What obstacles did actors encounter when attempting to influence energy policy? To answer these questions I integrate theories about large technical systems with theories about power and public policy.The case studies are based on multiple sources of data from two municipalities, Linköping and Norrköping. It is drawn from written primary sources (such as minutes, notes and documents) and from interviews. I have focused on four categories of actors, namely elected politicians who are members of the municipal council; representatives of the local energy companies; officials of the municipal housing companies; and municipal officials, such as those at the town planning office and environment office.In the case studies I analyse circumstances during the 1980s and 1990s that affected the energy systems. These circumstances were: 1) new energy investments and fuel choices; 2) work on local energy plans; 3) local Agenda 21 plans; 4) measurements taken for efficient energy use and a greater level of energy conservation: and 5) power relations between politicians and representatives of the local energy company.In the municipalities studied, the energy system was divided into three independent policy areas, one dealing with supply, one with conservation and one environmental questions related to the Agenda 21 vision of an ecologically sustainable energy system. These three policy areas were handled separately because they were separated organisationally, based on different knowledge foundations and had different objectives and time perspectives, different system limits, and different visions of how to build an ecological energy system.