mental policies, and the potential of energy conservation programmes for preventative (as opposed to reactive)

R esearch U nit Environm ental Policy

( International In stitu te for Environm ent and Society ) W issenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung

IIUG rep 87-3

ENERGY CONSERVATION AT THE LOCAL LEVEL

C om peting Energy Advisory Services in a G erm an M unicipality

Lutz H ildebrandt Bernward Ooerges

ISSN 0256-7296

WISSENSCHAFTSZENTRUM BERLIN FÜR SOZIALFORSCHUNG

Forschungsabteilung

’’Normbildung und Umwelt"

Reichpietschufer 50 D-1000 Berlin (West) 30

Tel.: 25 491-0 IIUG - Potsdam er S tr. 58, 1000 Berlin (West) 30, Tel.: (030) - 26 10 71

Advisory Services in a German Municipality

This study was devoted to a comparative analysis of the factors making for the relative success of four different local energy conservation programmes in a community. While local programmes achieve high levels of programme use and consequent conservation actions among private family house­

holds, the overall level of penetration remains unsatis­

factory, particularly in the case of disadvantaged consumer groups such as low-income and tenant households. In addi­

tion, programme involvement is strongly associated with previous commitment to energy conservation and a general involvement in local communication networks. Beyond these general features, the four programmes differ markedly with respect to the particular clientele they attract or select.

All the programmes studied show a series of deficiencies.

Advice given tends to remain restricted, possibly with the exception of the ecologists' service, to measures endorsed and subsidized by central programmes. All four local pro­

grammes are not sufficiently integrated with more compre­

hensive communal planning and relevant policy as well as administrative structures.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Energiesparen auf lokaler Ebene: Rivalisierende Energiebe­

ratungsdienste in einer deutschen Kleinstadt

Der Bericht basiert auf einer vergleichenden Untersuchung von vier in einer Gemeinde angebotenen dezentralen Energie­

sparprogrammen und der Analyse jener Faktoren, die für den Erfolg bzw. Mißerfolg der Programme verantwortlich sind.

Obwohl örtliche Energiesparprogramme bei Privathaushalten ein hohes Maß an Programmnutzung und nachfolgenden Sparmaß­

nahmen erreichen, ist ihre allgemeine Durchschlagskraft nicht zufriedenstellend, vor allem im Falle benachteiligter Kon­

sumentengruppen w i e ’Einkommensschwache und Mieterhaushalte.

Darüber hinaus besteht ein enger Zusammenhang zwischen Pro­

grammnutzung und vorbestehendem Interesse am Energiesparen sowie einer generellen Einbindung in örtliche Kommunikations­

netze. Abgesehen von diesen allgemeinen Charakteristika un­

terscheiden sich die vier Programme deutlich in der jeweili­

gen Klientel, die sie anziehen oder auswählen.

Alle untersuchten Programme weisen eine Reihe von Unzuläng­

lichkeiten auf. So scheint sich - vielleicht mit Ausnahme des ökologisch orientierten Beratungsdienstes - das Spektrum der empfohlenen Energiesparmaßnahmen auf solche zu beschrän­

ken, die von zentralen Programmen befürwortet und finanziell gefördert werden. Alle vier örtlichen Programme sind unzu­

reichend in eine umfassendere Planung, entsprechende Gemein­

depolitik und Verwaltungsstrukturen integriert.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

1. Background and Rationale of the St u d y ... 1

2. Conceptual Approach and Study D e s i g n ... 6

3. Programme-specific Analysis: "Top-down"... 10

3.1 Historical Background... 10

3.2 Main Actors and L i n k a g e s ... 12

3.3 Comparative Programme A n a l y s i s ... 18

3.4 Overall Programme Evaluation...29

3.5 A Sequential Analysis of Programme Penetration... 32

3.6 Overall Interpretation... 38

4. Programme-specific Analysis: "Bottom-up"... 42

4.1 Research Questions...42

4.2. The Personal C o n text... 43

4.2.1 Information: Propensity to Seek Information, Information Motives and Information Overload...43

4.2.2 Value Orientations and Attitudes to Energy Conservation...4 6 4.2.3 Past Action as Explanation of Conservation Action....51

4.3 Structural Contexts... 53

4.3.1 Socio-economic and Life Cycle Position of House­ holds ... 53

4.3.2 Disadvantaged Co n s u m e r s ... 60

4.4 An Attempt at Causal Integration... 63

5. Programme Unspecific Analysis: Users versus Non- Users ... 7 4 5.1 Economic, Technical and Legal Contexts... 74

5.2. The Community C o n t e x t ... 7 6 6. Summary and Conclusions... 7 8 7. References... 81

The study compares the structures, dynamics and impacts of four community-level energy conservation advisory programmes

"competing" within the same municipality— a South German university town. Against the background of the West German experience of energy policies directed at private households, it attempts to provide empirical evidence concerning a series of issues central to the public and policy debates around end-use oriented energy conservation strategies :

"decoupling" economic growth and energy consumption and introducing changes in household energy technologies which are both environmentally sound and acceptable from social and consumer policy points of view. The most general context of the study is thus an interest in the relationships,

linkages and conflicts between energy, consumer and environ­

mental policies, and the potential of energy conservation programmes for preventative (as opposed to reactive)

environmental strategies as well as for equitable social conditions in the household production sector.

The study focusses on local conservation programmes and here, in turn, on the particular issue of reaching and involving less advantaged consumer groups, particularly tenant and

low-income households. Before describing the study design and structure of analyses undertaken, a few remarks concerning the broader policy and research context may be useful for readers not familiar with the West German case.

In the years before the study was undertaken, private house­

holds and small-scale consumers accounted for approximately 45 per cent of final energy consumption in the Federal

Republic of Germany. While official statistics do not separate private households and other commercial and agricultural

small-scale msers, it can be assumed that private households

account for approximately 65 per cent of this. In turn,

approximately 90 per cent of household energy consumption

2

is associated with space heating and hot water. Almost half of household energy consumption is covered by oil. Between 1979 and 1982, energy consumption in this sector was reduced by about 15 per cent, more than half of it (in the first year after the energy crisis about 90 per cent) can be attributed to conservation actions on the part of consumers (see Schiffer 1 983) .

While it is hardly possible to ascribe with certainty the portion of energy conservation achieved to "market forces", other factors operating somewhat independently of public policy, and policies and programmes aimed at bringing about energy conservation, the latter have doubtlessly contributed in good measure to this reduction in energy demand. The policy framework developed by federal and state governments as a

result of the second energy price crisis in 1978 and extended in 1981 as part of the so-called "Bund-Länder-Programm"

for the support of energy conservation investments , in fact, gave high priority to full exploitation of the conservation potential in the household sector (see

Luhmann 1981; Hildebrandt & Joerges 1983). In this programme, three general types of measures have received funding (see Federal Ministry for Economics 1977, 1981; 2nd and 3rd Exten­

sion of the Federal Government's Energy Programme):

• financial measures (taxation, subsidies),

• regulatory measures (statutes governing the operation of heating units),

• informational measures (social marketing type activities).

Beyond some rough estimates very little information

available about the ways in which regulatory measures have affected

energy conservation (see Horn et al. 1978; ifo-Institute

1982, pp. 313-494). By contrast, there is more precise informa­

tion about financial measures, subsidies and income tax reliefs, at least concerning their undesired effects— approximately

85 per cent of the funds were invested in insulation, 75 per

cent of which, in turn, was accounted for by double-paned

Windows (see Eisei 1982), the installation of which is very controversial from the perspectives of energy policy, building policies and 'aesthetics. The progamme has been criticized b e ­ cause it has tended to benefit better-off home owners and to leave out large parts of the population like tenants and low income_groups, and because it had a number of undesirable side-effects such as rent hikes and building deterioration

(see, for example, Brühl et a l . 1981).

Informational measures are generally considered more significant, especially in view of the adoption and effectiveness of legis­

lative and finanical measures. A number of programmes were de­

signed and carried out in order to enlist the participation of the public in the Bund-Länder-Programm, including introduc­

tion of direct communication measures, indirect channeling of information through the media, the network of advisory offices of the consumer organisations, and special informa­

tion banks (see Hildebrandt & Joerges 1983 for an overview).

However, little is, again, known about the effects of informa­

tion measures taken under the auspices of the Bund-Länder- Programm. Quantitative estimates have been provided, for

example, in a study of the ifo-Institute (1932) for different instruments and programmes carried out by particular organisa­

tions, such as the Stiftung Warentest (comparative product testing organisation), which point at considerable conserva­

tion effects, at least for the years 1980 and 1981. However, such studies do not allow for singling out information effects from the overall effects of other measures and "spontaneous"

conservation actions.

Given the relative stability of the energy market, the drop in energy prices, and the generally more favourable economic climate since 1983 on the one hand, persistent high unemploy­

ment and increasing environmental pollution on the other,

the priorities of government energy policy have changed since.

Energy conservation policy was increasingly considered to be a vehicle of environmental policy and employment policy, the assumption being that investments made to promote the

4

rational use of energy reduce environmental pollution and stimulate employment (see Garnreiter et al. 1983).

It can be assumed that most of the regulatory measures of the 2nd and 3rd extensions (1978, 1981) of federal energy programmes and the Bund-Länder-Programm have now taken effect and yield diminishing returns. Consequently, attention has to a certain degree been shifted to information instruments, and to

consumer information programmes. Those carried out by consumer organisations continue to be considered highly significant by government agencies, while some of the financial measures have been discontinued. Without doubt, government is taking here into consideration results of empirical research indicating that, despite broad public discussion, the lack of specific informa­

tion is one of the main obstacles in achieving energy conserva­

tion and that consumers in general are not well equipped to manage their energy consumption efficiently under widely varying conditions with respect to sources of energy and household technologies available to them (see, for example, Sattler 1981,Gruber & Meyer 1982, Mettler-Meibom & Wiehert 1981).

In view of the high degree of heterogeneity and general thrust with respect to target groups and conservation approaches

advocated- (see Hildebrandt & Joerges 1983), one is probably allowed to speak of a genuin lack of information in the midst of a flood of information and a certain information overload. There is evidence that the supply of scattered information, some of which is incompatible or contradictory, does increase the general awareness regarding the need to conserve energy but does not change attitudes, let alone behaviour concerning relevant household routines. Garnreiter and his co-authors (1983) believe that the problem lies in the lack of enough diversity in the range of practical informa­

tion as well as in problems with people's receptiveness for information. Thus, energy advisory services have been

ascribed a key role in the implementation of conservation

programmes initiated by energy utilities (see Oesterwind 1983),

the programme implemented by the federal government in liaison

with the consumer unions (ÄGV) and a variety of programmes implemented by ecological organisations (see Hildebrandt &

Joerges 1983). In addition, many communities have begun to consolidate their information programmes by creating within their administrations positions for energy advisers or hiring independent energy consultants.

On the other hand, the issue of eliminating certain legal obstacles and concomitant conflicts between the interests of landlords and tenants, keeping tenants from investing in measures to conserve energy, have received more attention lately (see Federal Ministry for Economics 1982, pp. 12— 13;

Monse & Simon 1982, pp. 140-143; Garnreiter et a l . 1983, pp. 60-70; Prognos 1983). Generally, the willingness of consumers to invest in energy conservation is judged high, provided legal and economic barriers can be overcome (Brög &

Wichmann 1982).

One of the more interesting developments since the institution of federal and state level programmes has been the emergence of a variety of local energy conservation measures, although one cannot say that energy planning has become a routine policy and administrative function at municipal levels. How­

ever, with few exceptions (see, e.g., Woodward 1985), detailed studies of the evolution, dynamics and impacts of such pro­

grammes are not available. What is missing altogether are studies which link analyses of programme structure with

analyses of actual programme use, factors making for consumer

participation and impacts on consumers. Similarly, analyses

of those personal and structural factors generally facilitating

or impeding active energy conservation actions, irrespective of

or in conjunction with public programmes in support of energy

conservation, are conspicuously lacking. Our study of four

local programmes directed at consumers in the same community

context aims at bridging these gaps.

6

2. Conceptual Approach and Study Design

We will not present here the conceptual framework and general hyptheses underlying the study, as these have been described in detail elsewhere (see Joerges & Olson 1983, Joerges &

Müller 1984, and the introductory chapter of this book).

Specific research questions and operationalisations of main terms will be introduced as we go along with the analyses of the following sections. However, the rationale for select­

ing community, programmes and household groups studies re­

quires some comment.

In order to be able to perform comparative analysis across programmes, across programme-users and non-users, and across social categories, including particularly disadvantaged

groups, a site had to be selected where a variety of pro­

grammes was in operation, with sufficient numbers of clients to allow for statistical analysis, and where access to the agencies operating these programmes was assured. Additional criteria guiding selection were

• as much indepencence and "dissimilarity" between pro­

grammes as possible, particularly inclusion of an energy utility related and an ecologically oriented programme, in order to generate variety across p r o ­ grammes ;

• as high a level of public "energy consciousness" as possible, in the sense that community energy planning should figure prominently on the agenda of local

politics, in order to generate above average levels of energy awareness and controversy in the citizenry at which programmes are directed;

• middle size, in accordance with the general policy adopted for the international study to focus on such communities.

Among the roughly twenty municipalities in the Federal

Republic of Germany which at the time of the study had active local/regional energy concepts or plans underway, the one community which fitted best these criteria was Tuebingen, a South German university town of approximately 70,000 in­

habitants. In themselves, the selection criteria formulated exclude any "representativeness" of this community, setting it apart, on the contrary, from most other communities with respect to energy conservation and environmental issues.

And yet, being among the municipalities with the highest (above 20 percent) level of "Green" voters and obviously a disproportional number of households with an academic background, the community may be seen as representative for certain social trends at large, particularly strains on the party political system to accommodate growing numbers of

(for a lack of a better term) "post-industrialist" voters not easily aligned along traditional left/right political fronts. More than for other western industrialised countries, this may be a typical pattern for the Federal Republic of Germany (see our analysis in Part I of Joerges & Hildebrandt 1984). Factors contributing to the success or failure of programmes in this overall setting therefore might help in revealing more general trends.

The four programmes in this community are

• an energy advisory service operated by the local consumer organisation along the lines of more than 60 similar local programmes implemented throughout the country through the national association of consumer unions and its regional (or state-level) subsidiaries;

• an energy advisory service established by the m u n i ­ cipal council/administration as part of their energy concept;

• an energy advisory service established by the local utility (electricity, gas, water), partly in extension

8

of its traditional household oriented services with respect to household appliances in general, now empha­

sizing the rational use of energy in the heating and hot water consumption areas, partly in response to municipal activities judged inadequate by the utility;

• finally, an energy advisory service established by a local group of ecologists, in critical response to both the energy concepts and household directed initia­

tives of the municipality and the utility.

All households having effectively made use of these services prior to our study were then contacted through the agencies implementing these programmes themselves and were asked whether they would consent to being interviewed, on the basis of information provided by us on the proposed study.

One hundred and forty-three client households were thus included, and a comparison group, matched on the criteria of ownership, housing type and family size, was identified.

The total sample of 293 households was interviewed using a one-hour questionnaire. In addition, 16 structured inter­

views with key personnel of the agencies implementing the four programmes and their legitimating organisations were performed, and the available documentation concerning the four programmes was evaluated.

Based on these two sets of data--programme related and household related--three types of analysis were performed, and the following paragraphs present summaries of the

major results:

• In what we have termed a "top-down" perspective, the four programmes were compared along the dimensions of

(a) organisational evolution and structure, basic policy goals, conservation objectives, implementation strate­

gies and own-evaluation procedures; (b) five overall organisational attributes considered salient for programme success, i.e., flexibility, linkages, com­

mitment, targeting, and comprehensiveness; (c) overall

programme effects at three levels of clientele-penetration, i.e. programme awareness, programme use, and conserva­

tion actions induced (section 3 below).

• In what was termed "bottom-up" perspective, the four clientels of the programmes were compared with regard to a series of contextual factors assumed to shape energy consumption behaviours and response to conserva­

tion programmes. Here we focus on the way, (a) personal context factors, such as disposition to seek information, values and attitudes to energy conservation, and past conservation experience, and (b) structural context factors, such as socio-economic position and status, and family life cycle stage, mediate programme take­

up. This section also includes causal analyses, shed­

ding light on the interaction of personal and structural factors, on the one hand, the interaction of contextual factors and programme attributes,on the other (section 4 b e l o w ) .

• Again in a "bottom-up" perspective, we finally compare programme users, irrespective of specific programme adherence and non-users with regard to the factors mentioned above and a number of additional variables hypothetically associated with programme take-up (sections 4 and 5 below).

10

3. Programme-specific Analysis: "Top-down"

In this section, we give a short historical account of the development of the four services (3.1), followed by a de­

scription of the main policy actors involved (3.2). In the next step, a comparative evaluation of the four implementing agencies and their programmes is performed, considering

their basic policy goals, specific programme objectives with regard to conservation, their strategies, implementation procedures, and, finally, programme control (own evaluation)

(3.3) . Next, an evaluation of the four services with respect to overall programme attributes (flexibility...) is presented (3.4) . We finally turn to a sequential analysis of programme response and "penetration" ( 3.5).

3.1 Historical Background

Until the end of the 1970s, the only energy advisory service that existed in the Community was the utility companies' general counselling activities with respect to all kinds of household appliances. Turning this service into an energy advisory programme and establishing three other energy ad­

visory services in the area can be traced back directly or indirectly to the provisions of the second extension of the Federal Energy Conservation Act.

The second extension has provided, since 1978, subsidies for communal utilities to invest in expanding energy supply systems dependent on main sources. Very early, the communal utility under study had developed a local supply concept so as to be able to take full advantage of the investment aid offered through federal programmes. One of the things this concept provided for was priority use of natural gas and district heating in the inner city. District heating that had been provided by oil was henceforth to be produced in cogeneration plants operating on gas. To supply the sur­

rounding areas, the electricity resulting from cogeneration

was to be offered as so-called electrical district heating.

To ensure efficient heating in households, the right to draw on "district-heating electricity" was to be granted only if households complied with certain stipulations concerning in­

sulation.

It was the intention of using electricity for heating purposes that led to sharp controversies between the management of

the utility company, on the one hand, and ecologist groups and the Green Party faction in city hall, on the other.

Ecologists and the Greens elaborated their own supply concept, emphasizing greater use of renewable energy sources, coal- driven cogeneration plants with fluidized bed combustion,

and stronger in emphasis on insulation at the household level.

Critics^., of the utility's supply concept also called for the establishment of a local energy advisory service that was to be part of the city administration, independent of the interests of power industry and utilities. In 1980, strong public pressure resulted in the allocation of DM 60,000 for a municipal advisory office, but later, in a kind of barter transaction, advisory services were contracted out to a private engineering consult­

ancy. Consultants were to conduct low-cost energy counselling for private households out of offices provided by the muni­

cipality and, at the same time, do planning for other muni­

cipal projects related to energy conservation.

Both ecologist groups and the communal utility (Stadtwerke) found this to be an unsatisfactory solution.

a municipal company, the utility considered that it had the responsibility for all matters concerning energy advice. The ecologists

criticized the type and substance of the service and increased their efforts to create their own advisory programme. At the time of our study, a small private company run cooperatively by a group of ecologists had taken over these initiatives.

As the public dispute about the municipal energy supply concept developed, the advisory service of the local consumer union:, was requested by the federal union of consumer organisations

(AgV) to establish their own energy advisory service along

12

the lines of the federal government’s energy programme. With funds from the federal information programme administered through the Ministry of Economics, which were then channelled through the regional consumer union, a part-time consultant was hired to provide households with advice on energy matters out of offices provided by the local consumer union.

3.2 Main Actors and Linkages

Based on available publications and interviews with key personnel we have performed a rough structural analysis of formal and informal linkages between the main actors involved in these four programmes. Note that the information on which this is based is partly "weak", partly ambiguous, and that underlying processes are far from stationary, and that there­

fore the pictures drawn are tentative. We use < the following notation:

--- formal link

LA legitimating agency

I initiating agency

IA implementing agency PA participating agency HH household-level actors

DM financial link

Eigure 3.1

The utility 1s service is autonomous in the sense that it forms

an integral part of its corporate marketing programme. Legitimating agencies are, on the one hand, the municipality which owns the

utility and, on the other, the Association of Communal Utilities (VKU). Large organisations like the Central Advisory Agency

for Electriticy Appliances (HEA) and the Association of German Power Producers (VDEW) provide training and information materials, and major producers provide demonstration appliances (these

are provided competitively as part of the marketing strategies

of respective producers) (cf. figure 3.2).

The ecologists' programme presents a great network of informal linkages, having been founded as a "grassroots"

or "self-help" initiative not directly dependent on any other organisation. Strong links can be assumed with the nation-wide organisation of citizens initiatives (BUND) and a local group concerned with alternative energy issues

(Arbeitskreis Alternative Energie). Two independent ecological research organisations and "think tanks", the Öko-Institut and the Institut für Energie und Umwelt (IFEU), informally provides support. There are strong links to ecological activists and concerned scientists within the university community and the local Green Party.(cf. figure 3.3).

The municipal advisory service is formally part of the

"Hochbauamt" (building office), but operationally it is part of a privately run energy consultancy. Figure 3.4 shows

all actors involved in the debate about setting up this service, even those like the "Stadtwerke" (the utility) which were opposed to it.

The last service is offered by the local consumer organisa­

tion, an outlet of the regional consumer union (Verbraucher­

zentrale) which, in turn, is associated with the natioraal union of consumer organisations (AgV). Its activities are financed through these higher level organisations by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs (BMWi). The energy advisor of the local consumer organisation is the only one among the four services who has established working contacts with (two of) the other local advisory services (cf. figure

3.5) .

It emerges that a net of informal links have played an important role in establishing and situating the services of the municipality and the ecologists. The utility's service is, in contrast, formally and hierarchically in­

corporated in the utility company, while the formal incorpora­

tion of the consumer union's services is complex and relatively

ambiguous. Particularly, the formal links with the local and

The Utility Programme

utility

LA

energy-related study courses at

local university

private households municipal

administration, city council

HH

z

VKU PA

the utility's energy advisory

service

TT

/

HEA VDEW

PA PA

HH

DM (demonstration

appliances)

public organisa­

tions

i H 4 s.

I

HH

producers

of appliances

local business

PA

Figure 3.2

r --- --- k

L

"Science"

LA

K-i--- -M ^{Institut Öko-}

PA

BUND 1

k Arbeitskreis I

♦ 1

r

i Energie

i I

HH

IFEU

PA DM ecologists 1 energy advisory

service

DM , --

I --- 1 --- j.---

university PA

HH

HH

HH

HH

Figure 3.3

Green Party

PA

___________ I

private households

public organisa­

tions

business organisa­

tions

i

U1

I

I The Municipal Advisory Service

, --- ,

I 1

private households

public

organisa­

tions

business organisa­

tions

i I

Figure 3.4

DM

Ministry for Economics

(BMWi) LA

AgV HH federal)

Verbraucher­

zentrale (regional)

ecologists’

service

--- w---

energy advisory service consumer organisation

HH

HH

HH

HH

Verbraucher-

1 ___ 4______ ¹ verein

(local) utility's

service 1 HH

PA 1

private business private private households

public 1

organisa-

tions

Figure 3.5

18

the regional consumer organisations remain relatively un­

clear. The services of the utility and the consumer union can be seen as generated "top-down", while the municipal

and the ecologists' service were initially generated "bottom- up", through political mandate and citizens initiatives.

However, over time, if for different reasons, both these services have at best retained informal links with their initial constituencies.

3.3 Comparative Programme Analysis

The descriptions in this section are based on the analytical scheme developed for programme evaluations in an earlier study (see Hildebrandt & Joerges 1983), adapted to the spe­

cifics of local programmes. In a first step, the basic poli­

cies of those organisations that guarantee the financial and material viability of the services are analysed, assuming that their goals and objectives determine in good measure the type and quality of services offered (see table 3.6). As shown above the links with such organisations can be formal as well as informal As criterion for formal links we have taken financial support

and material dependence. While for the utility's service and the service of the consumer organisation this is unequivocal, the ecologists' service is only informally linked with other organisations, such as the federal association for citizens initiatives, but financially independent. On the other hand, very close relations to other ecological groups exist.

The municipal service is difficult to appraise in this respect because here the private consultancy with its own commercial orientation meet with the political and economic guidelines

and material support of the municipal administration. Similarly, the energy service of the utility can be viewed as part of

the marketing activities of this corporation with its under­

lying profit orientation. The ecologists' service does not

have explicit commercial objectives but must at least break

even if it is to continue to exist. A goal conflict between

profitability and "green" policy objectives can be assumed

here. Thus, only the energy service of the consumer union does not implicitly or explicitly pursue goals of organisational profitability.

Our appraisal of energy conservation goals relates to the link between general organisational goals and subsidiary conserva­

tion objectives derived from these. The utility explicitly pursues a policy of driving oil from the market. Although replacing oil with other energy sources dependent on mains is part of the federal government's energy conservation policy, it does not automatically lead to conservation if electricity is substituted. In contrast, the ecologists' service is based on a view of energy policy as integral part of environmental protection policies and a hardline opposi­

tion against any use of electricity for heating purposes, and thus against the utility's overall supply concept. The energy conservation objectives of the municipality's service can be inferred only with difficulty. On the one hand, the operating company has little intrinsic interest in conserva­

tion, apart from responding to specific interests of its clientel, on the other hand, the municipal mandate can be interpreted as an attempt to sparingly use tax revenues

available for energy conservation measures. Similarly, energy conservation goals are subsidiary for the consumer organisa­

tion, vaguely derived from the general objective of enabling households to function as "rational economic actors".

As for links with other supporting organisations, all

services, except for the municipality's energy consultant, are linked with various regional and national organisations.

The municipality's consultant, on the other hand,being in­

volved in the city's construction planning, has close con­

nections to various administrative bodies, providing them with energy relevant expertise more or less compatible with

"competing" energy planning of the utility.

Concerning clients' representation vis-a-vis the services,

the consumer union is the only one in which, almost by

Table 3.6: Basic Policies

Utility Ecologist Municipality Consumer

Organisation Main supporting

agency

utility companies grassroots organi­

sations

city council AgV consumer orga­

nisation Overall goals of

the agencies

to guarantee a stable supply of energy

to promote an eco­

nomic use of energy sources

to ensure an ecol­

ogical use of energy

to remain in busi­

ness^

to further adminis­

trative and politi­

cal objectives to secure a majori­

ty in the city council^

to promote an eco­

nomic use of energy sources^

to provide informa­

tion and to advise the consumer

model: homo eco- ncmicus

Energy conserva­

tion goals

weak/explicit: to replace oil with other energy sources dependent on the main scheme

strong/explicit: to promote the use of

"soft" technologies and the exploita­

tion of conserved energy

weak/explicit: to promote the subsid­

iary objective of spending as little tax revenues as possible

implicii/weak: to promote consumer advisory services in general

Supporting/cooperat- ing organisation

Verband kommunaler Unternehmen (UKU) Verband Deutscher Elektrizitätswerke

(VDEW)

indirect: federa­

tions and companies of the electro­

industry and energy supply industry^

Öko-Institut Frei­

burg

IFEU-He i delberg Bund für Natur und Umweltschutz-*-

administrative bodies

Federal Ministry of Economics consumer union Stiftung Waren­

test

Consumer representa­

tion, participation

none none (but is a self- help organisation)

none grassroots organi­

sation of the con­

sumers

Notes: (1) The group is independent, but grew out of BUND. (2) Refers to the city administration and the city council.

(3) Refers to the planning office. (4) Utility partly used as an advertising agency.

definition, the recipients of the services are formally

represented in the sponsoring organisation. However, at least initially, the ecologists' service may be looked at as self- organised by consumers having grown out of a strong grass­

roots movement for environmental improvement.

We will now turn to specific programme objectives of the four services. Table 3.7 provides an overview. In order to appraise objectives, one must differentiate between documented objectives and the objectives of individual energy consultants. Our results indicate that beliefs and orientations of energy consultants do not always coincide with organisational objectives. In this regard, the extent to which consultants can deviate from ob­

jectives set forth in a programme and the consequences this has for the relationship between consultant and sponsoring

organisation or the advisory service itself must be ascertained.

Except for the municipal service, for which no objective is clearly stated, the objectives of the services studied as documented in official programme information are closely modelled on the policies of the organisations through which the services are provided. In all cases, it can be inferred that advisory services are meant, in the first place, to help people use energy more efficiently. However, the meaning of this notion varies in accordance with the dominant ideologies of sponsoring organisations: the concept of efficient house­

hold production in the case of the consumer union;

consumers' adaptation to pricing policies aimed at oil sub­

stitution; in the case of the utility; a more comprehensive concept of resource protection and appropriate technological choices in the case of the ecologists.

In terms of information content, the utility's service has the least flexibility within the limits of company policy.

It is also set apart by the relatively great stress placed on substituting other sources of energy in accordance with corporate strategy. All energy consultants proceed on the

assumption that the most efficient approach to energy conserva­

tion is the introduction of "packages" of measures, with

Table 3.7; Programme Objectives

Criteria Utility Ecologists Municipality Consumer

Organisation Explicit energy

conservation objec­

tives

to replace oil as an energy source to become part of the pricing policy

to use soft energy sources

to exploit conserved energy

to avoid using elec­

trical energy

no explicit objec­

tive

inferred objective:

to promote the ra­

tional use of energy

to improve efficien­

cy of energy use to promote the ra­

tional consumption of energy

Objectives of the consultant

to promote economic efficiency

see above; to pro­

mote the economic use of energy

to promote the eco­

nomic use of energy to promote the use of new technologies

to promote the eco­

nomic use of energy to heighten consu­

mer awareness Flexibility of

the consultant - goal conflicts - discretionary

latitude

- range of measures - training

possible

somewhat lacking limited

electrical engineer, energy consulting engineer

none total limited physicist

possible total broad

heating and ventila­

tion engineer

possible almost total limited

heating and ventila­

tion engineer Conservation

measures

set of measures insulation and sub­

stitution of energy sources

insulation/change in use

use of solar energy improvement of effi­

ciency

insulation, storage units

solar energy

insulation

change in behaviour

Areas of energy use heating units, hot water

heating units heating units hot water

heating units hot water Environmental

objectives

to reduce environ­

mental pollution to protect resources

— to reduce environ­

mental pollution to protect resources Consumer objectives conventional (to

promote economic efficiency)

alternative (to promote conscious action)

— alternative (to promote conscious action)

Target-group orientation

primarily home owners

building owners, heme owners

heme owners tenants, heme owners

characteristic differences concerning their respective mixes.

It is notable that the consumer union's advisory service places strong emphasis on ecological issues, as of course does the ecologists' programme. By the same token, both programmes can be seen as pursuing, in a certain way, "alternative" consumer policy objectives, emphasizing participatory and equity objec­

tives. In the case of the consumer union's consultant, this may be attributed to the personal orientations of the advisor as much as to explicit programme objectives.

All consultants see home owners as their most relevant target group, and only the consumer organisation's service considers tenant households to be a relevant group, requiring specific services particularly in the context of complaints about heat­

ing bills.

Our third dimension of programme description, programme stra- tegies, i.e., the characteristic combination of instruments and measures advocated by the services, is summarized in table 3.8. Since all four programmes are basically advisory services, communicative instruments are naturally most pro­

minent. Only the utility is legally empowered to resort to financial or regulatory measures in their own right, on the basis of the relevant decisions of the city council. In this sense, observations concerning financial, regulatory, and technical measures refer to the energy consultants' endorse­

ment or non-endorsement of such measures.

All consultants indicated that they put the technical con­

text of households at the centre of their advice. As a rule, broad and general information about technical possibilities and their economic effects as a result of reductions in energy use is provided. However, the way in which economic effects are estimated differs greatly. Whereas the utility and the consumer union provide relatively rough estimates of the im­

pacts on energy consumption and conservation, the ecologists' service takes measurements in the households themselves and

Table 3.8: Programme Strategies

Instruments Energy Advisory Service

Utility Ecologists Municipality Consumer

Organisation A. Communicational

1. Information a. General in­

formation : context

Lectures - technical - economic

Public counseling - technical

- economic

- technical - technical - economic b. Focus

1) extent 2) reduc­

tion of

general tips rough estimate

measurement taken in the household calculation of efficiency

estimates made on the basis of construction plans

rough estimates

2. Persuasion goal orientation anti-electricity stance,

heightened aware­

ness

dispassionate, no goal

heightened aware­

ness 3. Participation

a. change in life style

- implicit - favourably in­

clined b. collective

action -

in favour -

in favour B. Financial pricing/wage

policy

special condi­

tions

in favour of fi­

nancial incentives

in favour of i pricing policies

in favour of fi­

nancial incentives against pricing policies

C. Regulatory in favour of priority areas and all-inclusive rents

in favour of

district heating, compulsory hook­

up and laws pro­

tecting tenants

against ordi­

nances

against instru­

ments in general

D. Technical in favour of dif­

ferent gas/elec- tricity supply, heat pumps

in favour of renewable energy

in favour of dis­

trict heating and storage technol­

ogy

in favour of renewable energy

calculates economic efficiency. The municipal energy consultant does much the same, but relies heavily on plans provided by the clients themselves and does not offer house calls as part of the service.

It is not easy to determine the degree to which the services actively try to persuade households to implement particular strategies. All consultants indicate that they provide neutral advice, as stated in their services' statutes. Asked for their personal stance, the consumer union's consultant emphasizes changes in the personal context of clients, i.e., awareness and know-how, which then would lead to conservation actions.

The ecologists' advisors take a strong anti-electricity stand, thus excluding entire clusters of possible measures as mis­

placed. The utility's advisor is constrained in his choices by the utility's supply concept. By contrast, the energy ad­

visor working for the municipality argues dispassionately and remains, on request, open for all kinds of measures, even those which may be judged meaningless in view of energy con­

servation strictly speaking. Advisors' opinions on financial instruments differ somewhat, the utility and the municipal service leaning towards pricing strategies, the ecologists' and the consumer unions' towards financial incentives as pro­

vided through the federal programmes. Both ecologists and consumer union emphasize somewhat solar energy as an alter­

native technical option, provided it is economically effi­

cient; the utility's advisor favours heat pump technology, the municipal advisor heat storage technology.

An overview of particulars at the level of programme imple- _ mentation is given in table 3.9. The organisational web

through which the four services are implemented has been described above. As for procedures, all advisors claim to work without a pre-determined programme, orienting them­

selves instead to the specific problems brought forward

by their clients. Only the ecologists' service has developed a rough framework, cataloguing possible measures broken down according to effectiveness and financial cost. Some of the

Table 3.9; Implementation of Programmes

Criteria

Energy Advisory Service

Utility Ecologists Municipality Consumer

Organisation Operating

organisation

utility ecological

groups

private engineer­

ing office

consumer union

Planning of programme mix

problem oriented;

reliance on

supply-side of the policy of the com­

munal utility

problem oriented;

development of catalogues of measures

those seeking ad- advice determines the substance of the programme

problem oriented;

energy leaflets from the AgV stress on meas- sures to change behaviour

Channel for reaching target population

lectures/adver­

tisements ;

personal communi­

cation ;

shoppers' maga­

zine

personal communi­

cation ;

social networks;

fliers and bro­

chures

personal communi­

cation ;

newspaper arti­

cles

personal communi­

cation ; calendar of events

Financial

source part of public re­

lations work

self-financed through con­

tracts

rent reduction, actual costs

(granting con­

tracts ) , fees

federal and state energy programme

Operating staff electrical engineer

physicist heating and ven­

tilation engi­

neer

heating and ven­

tilation engi­

neer

substance of the consumer union's service is prescribed in

general terms in materials provided by the regional and national sponsoring organisations.

As the energy consultants see it, the motive for seeking out a particular service stems almost always from some personal com­

munication. At the same time, however, all consultants adver­

tised their service publicly in various printed media like the customers' magazine of the utility, the calendar of events published by the city gazette, or other local media.

No definite figures were cited for the costs of the programmes.

As concerns funding sources, the utility's service is financed as part of its customer service and public relations programme, and the consumer union's service is funded entirely through the

government's energy programme. Funds for the municipal service come from the municipal administration, partially in form of covering rent costs for offices, but also from fees collected from clients, subsidised in turn by the municipality. The ecologists' service is also financed through fees, and a dis- proportional work input of the group of advisors running it.

All of the advisors have an engineering/natural science back­

ground, none of them having formal training or extensive pre­

vious experience in advisory work.

Programme control in the sense of programme supervision or/

and inbuilt self-evaluation remains weak in all programmes.

Table 3.10 provides an overview. None of the services has de­

veloped a refined system of quality control, a record of the number of clients being almost the only explicit indicator of programme success. The consumer union's service keeps a syste­

matic file of the clients having been contacted for future evaluation, provided of course the party counselled agreed.

Thus, there is almost no information concerning the effect of advice collected routinely, whether at the level of conserva­

tion action taken nor obviously at the level of energy con­

served. Only the ecologists' group prepared, at the time of

Table 3.10 Programme Control

Energy Advisory Service

Utility Ecologists Municipality Consumer

Organisation Type of built-in

evaluation pro­

cedure

implicit

number of clients;

number of people at lectures

number of clients number of clients

systematic collec­

tion of addresses;

number of clients;

degree to which people know about the programme

(based on surveys) Evaluation

criteria

Consultant Implemented Consultant Implemented Consultant Implemented Consultant Implemented Energy conserva­

tion _X - _{X X} X _X

Conservation

actions — (x,1

X X

Consumer impacts - - - —

Environmental

impacts - — _X (X) (X)

Cost effective-

ness - - (x) (X) - - _X -

Other - (X) - - - (X)

Type of feedback to previous stages of operation

personal contact with clients

ongoing counseling and measurement of the effects a mea-

sometimes a calcu­

lation of need for insulation

practica) existant

Lly non- sure has on energy

consumption 1) valid, but with some limitations

the study, a programme of systematic post-advisory monitoring of their work, both in order to determine programme results and to test computer-aided service programmes under develop­

ment. In sum, evaluation rests to a large degree on informa­

tion and experience collected informally by individual advisors rather than on explicit and systematic records.

3.4 Overall Programme Evaluation

Building on the programme descriptions in the previous sec­

tions and results of our interviews with the energy advisors, programmes are now evaluated according to five criteria:

flexibility, the existence of' "relays" or supporting ties with other organisations, the commitment of key personnel, the

specificity of programme targeting, and the comprehensiveness of programmes in terms of objectives and instruments--all attributes considered to be major determinants of programme success. Appraisal is performed by scoring programmes according to whether a given feature is "present", "present to a limited degree", or "non-existant". An attempt is made to appraise programmes in terms of actual performace at the time of the

study, rather than in terms of its potential. For each criterion, the four programmes are given a rank score. Table 3.11 summarises results and speaks largely for itself. A few comments may be

added.

Flexibility: Only the utility has discretion in distributing their funds. It can negotiate pricing conditions or wage and salary structures. The municipal service and consumer organi­

sation service have discretion in employing instruments at their disposal but are limited on account of their poor equipment. The consumer organisation's service has shown an ability to join in coalitions with a variety of other organisa­

tions, whereas public disputes around incompatible supply con­

cepts have created insurmountable barriers for joining forces between the utility and the ecologists on the one hand, the utility, the ecologists and consumer union's service and the municipal set-up, on the other.

30

Table 3.11: Overall Evaluation of Programmes

Criteria util. ecol. muni. cons.

org.

Programme in existence since 1981 1983 1981 1979 Flexibility:

- freedom to distribute funds X - - -

- freedom to employ diff. instruments X X - - - join coalitions with other agencies - (X) - X

- select target groups X X - (X)

- exemption from control - (X) X -

rank 1 1 4 3

L i n kages:

- downward - X - X

- upward (X) X - X

- horizontal (X) - - X

rank 3 1 4 1

Commitment:

- to energy conservation issues X X - -

- to specific kind of groups - X - X

rank 3 1 4 1

Targeting: matching to target group

requirements X X (x) X

rank 1 1 4 1

Comprehensiveness:

- regarding issues - (X) - X

- instruments applied X (X) - (X)

- contexts addressed X X X X

- channels used - X - -

- packaging X X X -

rank 2 1 4 2

x present

(x) present to a limited degree non-existant

L i n kages: In our view, the consumer union's service comes out first with regard to establishing a variety of "downward",

"horizontal" and "upward" linkages; it has established con­

tacts between the different services, is affiliated with an

"independent" federation of consumers, and is supported both materially and financially by a powerful national organisation.

The utility's has no strong links to its clientele, except for the business relationships and market processes that exist between practically all households and the utility. The muni­

cipal service remains all but isolated having established

working relationships only with parts of the municipal adminis­

tration .

Commitment: Difficult as this particular criterion may be to appraise, we conclude that the advisors of the consumer

u n i o n 's and the ecologists' services are more strongly committed to both the objective of energy conservation and to particular client groups. While all advisors claim to target their services to specific conservation requirements of specific groups--with the possible exception of the municipal service whose clientele as well as conservation orientation remains doubtful— the ad­

visors of these two services seem to have more genuinely

embraced the goal of household energy conservation and established a stronger identification with their particular clienteles.

Targeting; We have touched upon this aspect repeatedly. While all services must be rated generally "weak" in this respect, only the municipality's advisor seems to lack it altogether, seeing "households in general" as a potential clientel

loose coupling of this service with the municipal administra­

tion makes it almost exempt from institutional control, too.

By contrast, the ecologists' service is subject to a range of informal monitoring groups which effectively direct their work towards clients with an environmentalist orientation, cutting across conventional social segments. A more detailed analysis of the actual reach of the four services with regard to the social segmentation of their clientele will be given below.

32

Comprehensivenesss: Again, the programmes and their advisors, respectively, vary greatly from another in this respect.

This is partly due to the different technical backgrounds of the advisors and to the different degrees to which the

services are materially equipped by their supporting agencies.

As mentioned, the services concern themselves in principle with almost all aspects of household energy consumption, with a strong focus on technical measures. All services, with

the exception of the consumer unions', attempt to offer

"package solutions", i.e., advocate some sort of integrated solution rather than "one-shot" measures for given house­

holds .

As shown in the table, a rank ordering of the four programmes concerning the five criteria places the ecologists's service slightly ahead of the consumer organisation's and the utility's services. These two are about "even", with slight differences in some of the evaluative criteria. Further differentiation could be derived only by weighting these criteria, a procedure which is not warranted on the basis of our data. The municipal

service comes out last in almost all respects, however.

This is partially due to the lack of organisational affilia­

tions and the half-hearted way in which this service is equipped by its sponsoring agency, and partially to the particular orientation of its personnel.

3.5 A Sequential Analysis of Programme Penetration

In order to relate programme evaluation based on data per­

taining to programme structures and dynamics, as presented in the previous section, to actual programm impacts, we will now draw on the main results of the households survey.

Programme success can be measured as a sequence of "hierar­

chical effects" of information processing, resulting behaviour and its evaluation (see, e.g., Ewald & Rosenstiel 1980),

using data indicating progressive penetration of a programme from mere acquaintance on the part of prospective users

Table 3 . 1 2 ; Sequence/Hierarchy of Programme Impacts

HOUSEHOLD SAMPLE (users and non-users)

AWARENESS

(proportion of households who know of the programme)

I

ACCEPTANCE

(index value of perceived 'credibility', 'competence', and 'closeness to requirements')

USE

(proportion of households knowing of a programme and contacting it)

ACTION INTENTION

(index value of probabilities to undertake specific conservation action)

CONSERVATION ACTION (number of specific measures

undertaken after advice) SATISFACTION

(proportion of households rating programme as most important source of conservation

information after advice)

to satisfaction with services rendered and followed t h r ough.

The six indicators chosen for a comparison of programme- specific impacts are shown in table 3.12. In these indicators

34

data from certain items in our household questionnaire are combined for the different subsamples of the entire sample (users and non-users) relevant to particular stages in pro­

gramme penetration reached. In order to estimate programme impact, scores for these "dependent variables" were calculated and the rank order of these scores interpreted as indicating relative success of the four programmes.

In a first step, we will now compare results with respect to awareness, acceptance and programme u s e . Table 3.13 shows that the four programmes rate similarly on all these indica­

tors. It emerges that the utility's service has the greatest chance of being contacted by households, due to its high visibility. This is partially a straightforward effect of the particular position of the utility in the community, each household necessarily entering into some relation with it via its electricity and/or gas consumption. Similarly, the consumer union enters the field with a high degree of visibility due to its general activities concerning consumer issues.

Yet, high visibility does not result here in high acceptance and use, the utility and the ecolologists' services rating on top of the consumer organisation and the municipality's service.

We then proceed to action intentions, conservation actions taken and programme satisfaction. Again, results are shown in table 3.13. We conclude that the readiness to undertake

certain conservation measures is generally higher with users of the consumer union's service than those of users of the

other services (and, we may add, non-users). The municipality's service shows the reverse effect, except for heat pump tech­

nology. Similarly, the clientel of the ecologists' service does not deviate much from average levels of readiness to act, except for solar technology and, again, heat pumps. Interest­

ingly, the users of the utility's service show little in­

terest in these technologies. Table 3.14 gives the results on a scale ranging from 0 to 1 for the intention to undertake certain measures not yet undertaken, provided a 25 percent

Households knowing of programme Households using programme services Programme 'K n o wers'1 Awareness Acceptance Use Action

intention

Conservation actions

Satisfaction

utility 254 (122) .87 (.81) . 62 ( .50) .43 .38 1.41 .44

ecologist 78 ( 28) .26 (.19) .58 ( .53) .33 . 40 1.53 . 63

municipal­

ity

50 (24) .17 ( .16) .21 ( .16) .10 .08 . 60 . 6O2

consumer organisa­

tion

120 ( 55) .41 ( .37) .48 ( .36) .24 . 54 1.59 .56

1 In parantheses results from non-user subsample

2 Intrepretation problematic due to size of subsample

i